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Our tradition and party would on December 22 make the crucial decision ever in its history. A decision that will seal our stay in government or send us into a long stay in opposition. But are we prepared as a political party to be in opposition, come January 2009? Undoubtedly, the answer from a serious party activist would be NO! But in legitimate view, congress decision on December 22 at the University of Ghana, would determine that.

Over 2,300 delegates are expected to converge at the University of Ghana to elect our next leader. Several top guns of our tradition and party have offered themselves for consideration and, have been testing the waters through vigorous campaigning since January this year. The guns include the old like Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (my greatest mentor), Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Osadeyea Osarfo Maafo, and Dr. Addo Kufour among others. With the young comprising the celebrated General Dan Botwe, the eloquent Kwabena Agyepong, Dr. Arthur Kennedy, Alan John Kyeremanten and the distinguished banker, Boakye Agyeko.

It is significant to note that all the 17 presidential hopefuls can be good presidential materials but not all of them can win the national election for party and by extension lead firmly and decisively.

Election 2008 can never and will never be a walk over for the NPP. It is going to be hotly and closely contested and will be witness globally as the most competitive elections ever held in our post-colonial political terrain.

I have always maintained that assessing the strengths and weaknesses of all the presidential hopefuls must be embedded on the philosophical pillars of rationality and not on an ethnocentric belief. The most important benchmark must emphasized on the ability of our next presidential hopeful to intuitively construct political ideas that are pre-requisite to usher our nation Ghana into a middle income status by 2015 with sustained economic growth and also mainstreaming our free fall economy to global economy, entrenching the rule of law policy of our founding fathers.

In the interest of our tradition, party and our nation Ghana, I will make a passionate appeal to the delegates to endorse Nana Addo as our next leader. He is an astute politician apart from being an illustrious law scholar. He is also a vigorous polymath and an independent thinker of power and originality and to a greater extent a source of inner spiritual strength to millions and millions of Ghanaians.

Unlike the other aspirants, Nana Addo is a befitting record holder in terms of popularity and marketability. These two accolades are important tools to winning political power in our contemporary Ghanaian politics.

Nana Addo has offered political leadership for close to thirty-four years and he is arguably the third most popular politician in the country. He was very much part of the civilian leadership that opposed the Kutu Achaempong?s union government concept which was a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize and perpetuate military rule in Ghana. I personally admire him because of his stiff opposition to militarism, the depth of his convictions and his determination to defeat mediocrity at all cost.

It is also no secret that Nana Addo has unmatched international exposure. He has been Ghana?s first foreign minister to chair the UN-security council that handed the resolution 1701 to end the nuclear terror between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.

Nana Addo the understands the problem of every Ghanaian man or woman and has promised to build ??a competitive economy with a competitive work force.? This is a man every Ghanaian place absolute confidence in his ability to lead if given the nod. We must not experiment the presidency. According to Mr. Victor Newman, the chief strategist for the Akufo-Addo for President campaign team, that Nana Addo is ??. a man a cross section of Ghanaians have no doubt at all about his ability to lead firmly and decisively, sacrifice without seeking reward and deliver on promises..?

He is a man who has the vision to lead, the courage to act and the ability to offer solutions to the problems of the hour. I believe in his saying that ?? if a free society cannot help the many who are poor it cannot save the few who are rich.? Let?s vote Nana as our next leader for a prosperous developed economy. NANA OO!! NANA!!! ?OGBOO!!? NANA!! ?NANA YENIM WOFERE TETE?. ?NANA TI MIYA YUUI?

AKBAR YUSSIF ROHULLAH HOJATOLLAH KHOMEINI PRESIDENT, NANA AKUFO-ADDO FAN CLUB OF TAMALE.

email : mandeiya34@yahoo.com