Mr. Kofi Portuphy, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said Professor John Evans Atta Mills is a winnable candidate for 2012 elections and that all should join hands to support him.
He said the leadership style of the Professor is humility and hard work and that has earned him admiration from many Ghanaians and that no NDC member should lose confidence in him based on unfounded and baseless reasons.
Mr. Portuphy, who was speaking at a grand durbar to mark the 20th anniversary celebration of the NDC in the Eastern Region, said it was the hard work and commitment of the founding fathers that had brought the party that far and the support given to past leaders should be given to professor Mills.
He declared that victory for the NDC and for that matter professor Mills in the December elections was inevitable and that must shape the thinking of all party faithfuls to work in unity.
The NDC stalwart, indicated that the success of the party cannot be attributed to only one person and that the party would grow stronger if those who started it gave way to others to also come on board with new ideas and strategies.
Mr. Portuphy reminded the supporters to go and check their names during the voter exhibition to ensure that they could vote, adding that, the fact that one had the voter identity card did not guarantee his name in the register until had been verified.
He said the NDC believed in the power of the voter and therefore in the next six weeks was going to train two agents for each polling station for the revision exercise as part of the anniversary celebration.
The Regional Organizer of the Party, Mr. Tawiah Boateng, who recalled the process that led to Professor Mills selection, said it was as a result of the trust former President Rawlings had in him, and that NDC sympathisers should not be dissuaded by personal interests of others and stand firm in their support.
He said the support given to former President Rawlings must be given to Professor Mills and that was the only way for the party to remain in power and be a force to reckon with.
Mr. Safo Kantanka, former regional secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party(DFP), said the comeback of the DFP was an indication of the good works of Professor Mills and called on all DFP members who were still contemplating to come back to join the winning team.
Earlier, a large crowd of NDC fraternity, led by the Regional Executives and Seven remaining founding fathers in the region worshiped at the Central Mosque to thank God for the life of the party and donated mats, sheep and an undisclosed amount of money to the mosque.
The seven surviving Founding Fathers were also honored with gifts for their untiring efforts and commitment that made the NDC strong and formidable in the region.
As part of the celebration, a cleanup exercise by party faithful in the region was held at the Tafo government hospital and its environs.**