About 500 bigwigs of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by President Akufo-Addo, thronged the residence of ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Airport Residential area in Accra over the weekend to celebrate his 80th birthday.

The party Mr. Kufuor served at various levels of his political life deemed it prudent to celebrate his 80th birthday on Saturday, December 8, 2018.

Interestingly, DAILY GUIDE’s sources at the John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK) Foundation said they were surprised to see NPP members and executives at the residence of Mr. Kufuor.

The sources said the Foundation was preparing to take Mr. Kufuor out for a photo shoot but his party decided to hold a big surprise party in his honour.

It was a day for merrymaking as party officials, including Mr. Kufuor, who were mostly dressed in white attires, danced heartily to songs at the event.

President Akufo-Addo, who was seated next to the former president during the celebration, wished Mr. Kufuor long life, good health and prosperity and prayed for him to continue to guide the NPP in the coming years.

General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, in a statement, observed that “the NPP is pleased on this special day to join the rest of the world to celebrate one of Ghana’s all-time finest, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, the former President of the Republic, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.”

He added that “it’s said without doubt that the history of the 4th Republic cannot be told without the countless mention of the name, John Agyekum Kufuor, which largely personifies our success story.

“He made possible the seemingly impossible and gave Ghanaians more than enough reasons to have confidence in the nation’s political leadership.”

According to him, “John Kufuor’s tenure as President of the Republic has rightly been described by many political watchers as the best period in Ghana’s recent history.”

“He took over a highly indebted poor country with shuttered fundamentals from the then Rawlings-led NDC government and was able to competently overturn the country’s fortunes from HIPC status to one of middle income in his eight-year rule. Within this short period, he more than quadrupled the nation’s GDP and growth rate, drastically reduced inflation and interest rates, achieved significant exchange rate stability and ultimately put this country on the path of economic transformation and prosperity, with every economic index pointing to a positive direction.”

Mr. Boadu explained that “it’s regrettable that following the defeat of the NPP in the 2008 elections and the assumption of the NDC, most of these economic gains chalked up by the Kufuor government were completely watered down and eventually the country had to go back to the very IMF that President Kufuor took us out for ‘policy credibility,’ in the words of the then President, His Excellency John Mahama. Interestingly, another NPP government, under President Akufo-Addo, has salvaged this country from economic mess and taken us out of the IMF and their conditions, which are often times counter-productive.”

He said, “President Kufuor’s stupendous achievements were not only evident in the field of economics but also in the provision of essential social services. His name has become almost synonymous with social intervention policies following the very many social intervention policies he introduced during his eight-year rule to the extent that they have never been witnessed in the country’s history.”

He revealed that “today, when you mention Kufuor what comes to mind is NHIS, School Feeding Programme, the LEAP system, Free Maternal Care, Capitation Grant, Metro Mass Transport, Youth Employment Programmes, and Cocoa Mass Spraying, among other social interventions he successfully introduced and sustained.”

According to the General Secretary, the NPP, as always, remains extremely proud of the achievements of the revered statesman and extraordinary Ghanaian, whose indelible contributions to the socio-economic development of this country cannot be overemphasized. “Certainly, Ghana cannot honour and celebrate former President Kufuor enough. No amount of words can aptly describe his legendary achievements and sacrifices for our collective good.”