Tamale, Sept. 17, GNA - The Parliamentary Action Group (PAG) a pressure group within the People's National Convention (PNC) has appealed to Dr. Sulley Gariba, a businessman, politician, lecturer and researcher to contest for the presidential slot of the party. The group said the PNC was in a leadership tug-of-war and as a leader who had risen above petty squabbles and had built bridges, Dr Gariba had won the admiration of party faithful and sympathisers and he was the one who could unite the party.

This was contained in a statement issued by the PAG and signed by Mr Thomas Issah and Mr Issah Seidu, convener and co-convener of the group respectively.

"The most admirable attribute of Dr. Gariba is that he appreciates and respects all shades of political opinion and relates well with people of various ideological persuasions."

"We have no doubt that he will form a truly all inclusive government if he becomes president. This is something that we need but woefully lack in this country", the statement said.

The group said Dr. Gariba understood poverty and the development challenges facing Ghanaians, had worked closely and related with poor people and assisted in the design of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I and II) and other interventions meant to address the basic needs of the Ghanaian populace.

"Dr. Gariba's enviable international credentials place him at a very advantageous position to lead the pace of Africa's renaissance as President of Ghana. He has worked closely with parliaments and trained parliamentarians across Africa and is very well known in the West Africa sub-region." "He also has the requisite knowledge and negotiation skills to ply ball with the nation's development partners", the statement said. 17 Sept 07