‘Nana Addo Must Be Changed Now’

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God” Romans 14: 11

The above-quoted verse from the Good Book is what members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have come to acknowledge, and therefore, are calling for the immediate withdrawal of their moral-under-siege Party flagbearer, Nana Williams Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo as party-commander-in-chief for the ‘horrendous’ electoral battle of December, 2012; following indicting reports contained in the latest of US diplomatic cables released on Ghana, whistle-blowing website, the Wikileaks, which painted the Ghanaian political prodigy in gouache of abstracts, than oil-paint. He looks so bad in the eyes of the Ghanaian populace.

Latest to join the debate, therefore, over whether or not Nana Akufo-Addo should be maintained as the NPP Flagbearer to go on to present to Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and his Electoral Commission (EC) for gazette as the party’s Presidential Candidate for the 2012 elections, is a bankroller of the NPP and a leading member of the Ashanti cabal in the party.

Although pleads anonymity for fear of victimization, the party big-shot told The Informer in an exclusive telephone conversation, that organizing another congress to change Akufo-Addo is the only option to redeem the party’s image from the said Wikileaks reports that have caused the party and its leading members so much nightmare.

According to the Ashanti big-shot, the NPP as a political party craving for power instead of selling its ideas and making known to the electorate its alternative policies, can no longer continue to be defending Nana Akufo-Addo’s suspect credibility as a leader, and insisted that party leadership look for a better replacement for the current Flagbearer whose image has been so dented globally, via the Wikileaks reports.

“Mr. Kankam, I know many of my people would have wished that Nana Addo is changed for someone who will appeal better to Ghanaians, to lead the party into the 2012 general elections, now that his credibility has finally been thrown to the dogs after years of allegations leveled against him, for using drugs, but are afraid to say it; and I, as an individual will speak my mind since the party belongs to all of us”, the guru hinted.

“How can we go to battle with leader who is suffering from a credibility problem and think we will win”, he queried.

“In fact, I am happy to hear from Nana Addo’s own cousin, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko for bringing to the attention of the general public that election 2012 is about character of leadership, and it is based on this that I strongly hold the view that Nana Addo has no credibility and so, therefore, must be changed”, he added. “Either we change Nana Addo now or forget about the 2012 elections, because, Nana Addo’s credibility as we speak is no match to that of President John Evans Atta Mills, whom many of us in NPP can vouch for, so it will be of great interest to all of us in the NPP to say it as it is, withdraw Nana Addo, in order to better our fortunes come December 2012”, he intimated.

“ To a larger extent, I blame the party’s chairman, Mr. Jake Obestebi-Lamptey for foisting Nana Addo on us with the early congress that he organised, else changing Nana Addo as our Flagbearer would have been a simple thing to do, but all the same it is better late than never”, he angrily stated.

“How can Nana Addo sell when it has become a global knowledge that he is addicted to drugs and women; and we think we can win power?”, he questioned and requesting that the party goes to congress to change Nana Addo so it can be taken serious by the people of this country, whose mandate all political parties, both opposition and in-government are hoping to get.

Asked who he thinks should replace Akufo-Addo, he indicated that the party have so many credible people to be made leaders, be it from the Ashanti or Akyem land; but it will be a welcoming news for many followers of the party including himself, if the nod goes to an Ashanti person since ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor has proven his worth for the period that he led the NPP.

“As the saying goes, it is better late than never, I repeat; and the fact of the matter is that, Nana Addo must be changed now for the NPP to reclaim its sinking image by the Wikileaks report and I rest my case for now”, he concludes. When The Informer published weeks ago that the Ashanti cabal in the NPP are seriously mobilizing and pushing the agenda for an early congress so Nana Akufo-Addo can be changed, following how his political image has been reduced as a result of the Wikileaks reports, there arose raucous cry to the extent that political neophytes like Samuel Abu Jinapor even decided to rain insults on the newspaper’s Editor-In-Chief.

Now that the call for the withdrawal of Nana Akufo-Addo is coming from within, we shall know how it plays out to the hearing of the Akyem cabal, which is of the view that by hook or crook, its man should be made President.