Kumasi, April 11, GNA - The Old Guards Association of National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged the leadership of the party to utilise the elders of the party in efforts to mend its cracks and restore unity.

Unity, they said, was crucial if the party wanted to win the 2012 elections. This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Stephen Kwaku Boateng, Vice Chairman of the Association, in Kumasi at the weekend.

"It is therefore time for the leadership to draw on the experiences of the old and elderly members to forge unity," he said. The statement said the relevance and contribution of the old guards - made up of the elderly ordinary members - could not be wished away.

The statement cited the recent intervention by Nana Akwasi Agyeman, a former Mayor of Kumasi and Patron of the Association that helped to resolve the stalemate over the election of a Presiding Member for the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).

This is a clear demonstration of the significant part the elderly could play to calm tensions in the party. The statement praised Nana Akwasi Agyeman for that singular effort and said the old guards and their patrons could be pivotal to the NDC's election victory in 2012.