The former Vice-President and current presidential aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof Evans Atta Mills, has promised to build a united party if elected to lead NDC in the 2004 presidential elections.

He said: “The destiny of the party will be determined by how loyal members are to the party in the forth-coming congress.” Prof. Mills said this at the start of the week-long campaign at Krobo Odumase where he met with members of the Lower and Upper Manya Krobo, Yilo and Asuogyaman constituencies of the Eastern Region on Wednesday to canvass for support in the forth coming NDC congress. As part of his programme, he will meet with members in the Nkawkaw, Koforidua, Asamankese and Oda constituencies and also pay courtesy calls on some chiefs and other prominent people in the region.

Prof. Mills, who was received by a large crowd of the party faithful amidst loud applause and the chanting of party songs and slogans said it can only stand if party members are united and exhibit love for one another. He said, “without unity, the party will collapse,” and called on members to help build a peaceful, united, purposeful and focused party. The party, he said, has not completed the good work that it started and there is, therefore the need for supporters to build a united front so that they can wrest power back form the current government.

He called on party members to bury their individual differences and rally behind the NDC. He thanked the four constituencies in the district for their faithfulness to the party. Prof. Mills, who did not hesitate to admit that the NDC government had a few set-backs when they were ruling the country, said their being in opposition has taught them a lot of lessons which will help them to improve on where they left off when they come into power again.

He bemoaned the fact that the party faithful are now suffering in the country with most of them losing their positions or jobs due to their affiliation with the NDC. He said people were made to believe, when the NDC was in power that they were amassing wealth for themselves but this belief has been proved wrong by the ordinary lives that former ministers and district chief executives are leaving now. He also said that the NDC has been vindicated by the admission of President Kufour that it was justified in the number of ministers that it had in government and added that there will be more of such confessions if the current government fails to consult those who have been through the mill already.

On the issue of ex-president controlling him, Prof. Mills said there is no way that it can be possible and assured the supporters that he will be his own man when elected. The Regional Chairman of the party, Mr. Fred Ohene Kena, who was with Prof. Mills, said for the country to unite and move ahead, there is the need for leaders of the party to unite and fight for its interest. He said Ghanaians are now calling for the NDC to come back to power due to the hardship that hey are facing in the country, adding that the current government has not been able to fulfil most of its campaign promises especially with the eradication of Cash and Carry system from the country.