President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed his appreciation to the leadership and membership of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for the prayers and support given to him and his party, the New Patriotic Party, in the run-up to the December 2016 elections.

Addressing the 17th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at Abetifi, Kwahu, on Saturday, August 19, 2017, which had the Acting Moderator, Rev. G.O. Kwapong; Clerk of the Presbytery, Rev. Dr Samuel Ayete-Nyampong; former Moderator, Reverend Prof. Emmanuel Martey; and the entire membership of the Synod, all in attendance, President Akufo-Addo noted that, nearly a year ago, he addressed the 16th General Assembly of the Church, where he, amongst others, outlined his vision for the country, should he win the elections of December 2016, and went ahead to appeal to the Church for its prayers and support.

“By the Grace of God, and with the generosity of the Ghanaian people, I am here today, not as presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, but as President of the Republic. It was ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts’”, President Akufo-Addo said.

The President, thus, deemed it fitting and proper that, “after coming here to seek your support during the 16th General Assembly, I come back again, during the 17th General Assembly, to express my profound appreciation.”

President Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to thank the Church for all the assistance in education, health and agriculture, amongst others, that, for over a century, the Church has rendered to the Ghanaian people, and to the advancement of our nation.

New Ghanaian civilisation

The NPP, according to President Akufo-Addo, won the 2016 election because the Ghanaian people were dissatisfied with their living conditions and the direction in which the economy, and, indeed, the country was headed.

“They believed we, in the NPP, were different, and could put in place the requisite measures to improve their living conditions. My government has begun putting in place the measures that will improve the living conditions of the Ghanaian people,” he said.

On the requests put before the President by the Acting Moderator of the Church, Rev. G.O. Kwapong, on behalf of the Church, President Akufo-Addo assured that “in due course, you will know my response, and it will be positive.”

President Akufo-Addo appealed, once again, for the support of every Ghanaian, especially the support and prayers of the Church, to help him and his government carry out its mandate successfully.

“I am fortified in this by the Gospel of St. Matthew in chapter 19 verse 26, which reads: ‘But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’”, he said

President Akufo-Addo urged the gathering to believe passionately “in our capacity to build a modern, developed, progressive nation, and free ourselves from a mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts.”

He continued, “We can, together, build a new Ghanaian civilisation, where there is fair opportunity for all in education and health, where hard work, enterprise and creativity are rewarded, where there is an abundance of decent jobs with good pay, where there is a dignified retirement for the elderly, where there is a social safety net for the vulnerable and disadvantaged, where governance is honest and free of corruption, and where the rule of law works.”

The founders of Ghana, President Akufo-Addo stressed, chose the words Freedom and Justice as the country’s motto, “because they envisaged us as a shining example to the black peoples of the world of what a free, dedicated, enterprising, Ghanaian people can do to build a society the equal of any, anywhere on the face of the planet. I am deeply influenced by this vision.”

The President prayed for God’s blessings for the Church and for its Moderator, Rt. Rev. Cephas Omenyo, “and nurse him back to full health. Our nation needs his ministry, as we can all testify from his powerful address this morning.”