By Nana Akua Tweneboah-Koduah
October 12, 2015

We do not know where this is coming from, but suddenly Nana Akufo-Addo, the 2016 presidential candidate of the NPP, is claiming all over that he is too old to steal Ghana’s money when he becomes president of the Republic of Ghana.

Is Nana Akufo-Addo too old to steal? Does it mean that if Akufo-Addo were indeed young, he would have stolen from the national kitty if God forbids he becomes president of Ghana? Does it also mean that if Akufo-Addo has won the presidential election in 2008 he would have stolen from government coffers?

This statement by Akufo-Addo is fully loaded because it draws every past president of Ghana including ex-president Kufuor into the fray. All past presidents of Ghana were far below Akufo-Addo’s current age when they assumed office.

If therefore, we seriously delve into Akufo-Addo’s statement casting himself as somebody who will not steal because of his age, then all what Akufo-Addo is saying is that ex-president Kufuor who happens to be Akufo-Addo’s own party man was a thief as president of Ghana.

Additionally, what Nana Akufo-Addo is saying is that, young politicians including those from the NPP steal from government coffers.

Why in Nana Addo’s wildest dream does he think that old people who assumed the presidency of their countries cannot steal? How old is President Mugabe of Zimbabwe? Is he not being accused of corruption? How old was President Suharto of Indonesia before his ouster in 1998? Why are there allegations of corruption against past presidents who were far older Nana Akufo-Addo?

I want to bluntly tell Nana Akufo-Addo that: Old age is not a determinant of how corrupt one could be. Therefore, if Akufo-Addo wants to sell his brand to voters, he should refrain from saying that he is too old to steal from government.

Nana Addo continues to cast himself as anti-corrupt, but it is on record that he is in bed with top-brass drug dealers who have been funding his campaigns for the presidency since 2008.

If Nana Akufo-Addo were indeed not corrupt, he would not allow Freddie Blay, a vice-chairman of the NPP and the party’s treasurer, Kwabena Abankwa Yeboah, to secretly open a bank account and scoop deposits to fund his medical and comfort trips to Europe.

Nana Addo talks about corruption in Ghana, but is very silent on the corruption in the NPP, which has largely been traced to his doorsteps.

For instance how can Akufo-Addo behave that he is not aware that the NPP party headquarters has been used by his cronies as a collateral security to secure a loan from the bank, without the knowledge of the party’s chairman and general secretary. If this is not pure corruption, then I do not know which planet Akufo-Addo comes from.

Akufo-Addo kept several booklets of diplomatic passports in his office while he served as foreign minister under ex-president Kufuor. A foreign minister has no business keeping blank diplomatic passports in his/her office, yet Akufo-Addo did. He has however kept silent about it when the story broke out.

Nana Akufo-Addo who has nothing to run on except to bash and bash the Mahama’s administration, is very desperate for power. So desperate that he is saying anything just to get elected. This is not a man who should be taken serious by any serious-minded Ghanaian or voter. Akufo-Addo has nothing good to offer Ghanaians. In fact, he is even too old and sick to think on his feet.

If God forbids and Akufo-Addo sneaks in as president of Ghana, he will share Ghana among his Akyem cronies. Just imagine what Gabby Otchere Darko, the guy who looks like somebody about to turn 70, offer Ghanaians.

If Akufo-Addo continues to say that he will not “thief thief “Ghana as president, then he is indeed saying that ex-president Kufuor is a thief, who stole from the national kitty when he was president of Ghana from 2001 to 2009.

nakuakoduah@yahoo.com