Calls Him Your Excellency

With 169 days more left for Ghanaians to know their next president, some elements within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have shockingly started sending out invitations to people, asking them to attend “The Swearing in Ceremony of H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo”.

The invitation reads: “You are cordially invited to the swearing in of our Next President, H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo”. The venue, date and time of the swearing-in event were given as The Independence Square, Accra, Monday January 7, 2013 and 12:00pm until 5:00pm respectively.

The invitation was issued on the social media platform “Facebook” and has over 600 people expressing divergent views on it. The platform is one of the many sites on the internet created by the NPP and used to spread last week’s false claim that President John Mills was dead, and being kept in a secret makeshift mortuary inside the Castle, sparking jubilations in Kumasi, an NPP enclave.

The creation of the internet site has led to reports that some individuals in the NPP have started calling Nana Addo as “His Excellency” and “Your Excellency” while addressing him in public in precedence of the outcome the December 7, 2012, polls.

This could have led to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s obvious diplomatic blunder of having a meeting with Nana Addo, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Herbert Krapa and others in Berlin-Germany to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

The inaugural invitation again follows Nana Addo’s “Get Well” message he issued on behalf of Ghanaians to President Mills on his medical checkup in the US, saying the president “takes with him the thoughts and prayers of all Ghanaians who wish him good health and a safe return to duty in a few days”.

On dress code for the ceremony, the invitation said, “Please note that this is a national event so anything with the national colours is accepted as dressing code. The traditional Ghanaian Kentey could also make a great appearance”.

“All well meaning Ghanaians and non Ghanaians may attend this historic event. Ghana Shall move Forward!!

On the site, the opposition leader is dressed in a yellow-green-blue and orange mixed Kentey cloth with a white handkerchief in his hand.

The social media website Facebook, was used to spark civil unrest leading to the overthrow of the governments of some countries on the African continent and elsewhere in Europe, last year.

In Ghana, the NPP is effectively using the internet facility to its advantage. Last week, the facility was used to spread false claims on the health of President Mills with some saying he was bedridden by sickness and others saying he was dead, and being kept in a makeshift morgue in the Castle.

Meanwhile, the issuance of the invitation has been likened to the 2008 elections where, days before the polls, the NPP imported millions of wax prints into the country with Nana Addo and his running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s pictures embossed in them and captioned president and vice-president, respectively.

The cloths which were printed in the NPP colours of blue, red and white, were to be worn for Nana Addo’s inauguration as president, had he won that election. They were later sold cheaply on the streets of Makola Market in Accra and the Kajetia Market in Kumasi.

Also imported at the time, were hundreds of cartons of expensive champagnes. They were dumped in Nana Addo’s Nima residence with some later finding their way down the throats of some people, including staff of Freddy Blay’s Daily Guide, which has its office behind the NPP leader’s residence.

More to come!