by Margaret Jackson
August 30, 2016
As at the time of writing this article, Ghana has 98 days left to go to the polls to either retain President John Mahama or elect the next President to rule the country for the next four years. It is the seriousness attached to the 2016 Elections that made Parliament to adjourn sitting to allow incumbent and aspiring Members of Parliament to dash to their various constituencies to vigorously campaign until December 7.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is so far the only serious party in the field of many to have properly launched their 2016 Election Campaign amidst pomp and pageantry about three weeks ago in Cape Coast.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), which cannot wait even before the first ballot is caste but have created a “Hit List” to punish lots of Ghanaians including some of their own prominent members whom they consider “Anti-Akufo-Addo”, is yet to launch their 2016 Election Campaign. In fact, disoriented Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the party’s flagbearer who never entertains any dissenting voice in the NPP is yet to launch the party’s manifesto.
Nana Akufo-Addo’s bogus claim is that the NDC is waiting in the saddles to steal his party’s manifesto hence the delay in launching it. Sometimes some politicians notably those in the NPP, think they are the only knowledgeable and educated Ghanaians, therefore any bogus untruths they throw around would be consumed by voters without the processing of that information.
If indeed, the NPP has a clear manifesto and they publish it, how can the NDC steal (copy and paste) it when it would be very easy for any Ghanaian and the world at large to spot it? How can the NDC steal their manifesto? The simple reason is that Nana Akufo-Addo cannot put a manifesto together even though he was elected the flagbearer of the NPP in October 2014. For close to two years, Akufo-Addo who claims he is the only “competent” person to lead Ghana to a “first class world” cannot even put a manifesto together, yet he had already formed his shady cabinet if God forbids he wins the election. This is “Competent Akufo-Addo”.
Even though Nana Akufo-Addo has put together his 2016 Campaign Team, the team is largely on radio, television, and nothing more. The NPP campaign team apart from not having the logistics to go to the hinterlands to spread Akufo-Addo’s falsehood also lacks the leadership direction to prosecute the 2016 Election.
Aside that Akufo-Addo does not have the strength to do vigorous campaign activities. For two years, Akufo-Addo dashes to regions to campaign on sporadic basis, but he only visits chiefs and dashes to lorry stations and markets to speak for only 30 minutes. Don’t be fooled, Akufo-Addo does not have what it takes to do vigorous campaigns. You may not believe this but with coming days when the 2016 Campaign heats up just see how things will unfold.
Therefore, many NPP supporters heaved a sign of good relief when Parliament adjourned with the hope that the NPP candidates will go to their various constituencies to campaign not only for themselves but to boost the floundering campaign of Akufo-Addo.
If indeed, you are a serious minded person you are bound to set your targets and work towards them. But what are we seeing? The NPP Parliamentarians are back to Accra. They are back to Parliament. Their agenda? To impeach President Mahama for accepting a Ford car gift from a Burkinabe businessman, which he never used for his personal comfort.
Article 112 (3) of our Constitution states that Parliament must consider a petition signed by at least fifteen percent (15%) of Members of Parliament (MP). We are told a little over 100 NPP MPs signed the bogus petition to impeach President Mahama hence the recall of Parliament to consider the petition.
But what Ghanaians need to know is that the NPP will need about 183 members of Parliament to remove President Mahama from office. The simple question is where the NPP is going to get the votes from to remove President Mahama from office when they only have 122 MPs with the NDC having 148. We have four Independents and one from the People’s National Convention.
In NPP’s wildest dream, do they think that NDC MPs will cross carpet and vote with them to remove President Mahama from office? Just tell me if NPP is a serious party. A serious party looking to rule Ghana in less than four months. This is indeed a party in disarray. It is a party without direction. The NPP is a party groping for anything that will give them a five minute spot in the news today. They have no message and no proper organizational direction.
If the NPP were under a good leadership, Nana Akufo-Addo would have told them to stay in their constituencies to campaign since time like tide waits for no one. Why waste precious time to come and attempt to remove a sitting President from office when you know that it would not fly or you simply do not have the votes to do that.
If you do not have good leadership, if you are under a divisive flagbearer, if your leader is a dictator, if you do not a message for voters, if you do not have a manifesto, if you do not have good direction, I bet you will not have comfort even in your own constituency. Which is why, the NPP MPs cannot stay in the locals to campaign.
The NPP is in serious trouble as far as the 2016 Elections are concerned. They may attempt the rope-a-dope strategy but time is telling fast on them. The NPP has not what it takes to win the 2016 Elections. That’s the GOSPEL TRUTH! And that’s what they are hiding from Ghanaians.
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