Retain NDC to consolidate gains — President Mahama
Thousands of National Democratic Congress (NDC) faithful yesterday turned up at the Accra Sports Stadium for their last rally, at which President John Dramani Mahama said the December 7 general election was a choice between consolidating the gains his government has made over the years and a stagnation of Ghana’s prospects without the guarantee of success.
Addressing the supporters at the event to round off the party’s campaign for the 2016 general election, Mr Mahama asked the electorate to retain the NDC to continue to keep the country in safe hands to safeguard its future.
He said the country had been in safe hands under his watch and the fact that it was the most stable country in the sub-region pointed to brighter prospects which Ghanaians should embrace.
The supporters, from all walks of life and made up of all ages, were clad in the party’s colours of red, white, green and black.
What prevented an overflow of the people at the stadium was that some of them managed to get onto the pitch, thereby freeing some space in the stands.
Also, not all the people entered the stadium. There was a very large number of party supporters outside the stadium enjoying the fanfare while the rally lasted.
They had no plans of getting inside to listen to speeches and were content with dancing to music, taking selfies with friends and on horseback and generally having a good time as if they were at a carnival.
Dressed for NDC
Some wore white ‘T’ shirts, some green, others red or black, all with one inscription or another asking for a vote for President Mahama or an NDC parliamentary candidate.
From the early afternoon when the party faithful began arriving on buses, motorbikes and in cars draped in party paraphernalia, amidst the tooting of horns, they blew mini vuvuzelas to begin a celebration that was to run into the night.
The massive crowd did not hide their excitement as they danced to chants and music that interspersed the statements by the party leadership.
But when the anthem of the NDC was played, the atmosphere was immediately electrified, with the supporters singing along with the anthem blaring from the speakers, with some marching to the music and blowing their vuvuzelas.
President Mahama, who spoke in Ga, Ewe, Hausa and English, was the last speaker at the rally and he asked all the party members to make sure they rose early tomorrow to cast their votes.
He recalled the difficulties he faced in the initial days of his Presidency, including debilitating power outages, and was upbeat that he had done his best to stabilise the power situation and improved the economy in the last four years, adding: “The rest is for Ghanaians to judge.”
The President, who was given a tumultuous welcome by party supporters when he arrived at the rally grounds from campaign tours in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, expressed his gratitude to NDC supporters across the country for their selfless enthusiasm to the party’s cause.
He dedicated what he described as the NDC victory to those supporters he termed as heroes of 2016 who embarked on door-to-door campaigns at their own expense.
Expressing his hope for victory in the elections, he posited that his government had undertaken many structural reforms with positive results which could only be further consolidated “if we press on and stay the course”.
He said he would use the next four years, if given the mandate, to continue the investments already made to bring the level of infrastructure to a middle-income status and also help the private sector capture the commanding heights of the economy.
The President reaffirmed his resolve to ensure peaceful elections, saying that one of the defining ingredients of the country was its peaceful nature, for which reason he would not allow violence under his leadership.
Earlier, the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, had called on Ghanaians to ignore the change the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was calling for, arguing that what the NPP called change was already happening under President Mahama.
He took a jab at the running mate to the NPP’s flag bearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who claimed to have posed 170 questions to the Vice-President which he had failed to answer.
But Mr Amissah-Arthur said what Dr Bawumia described as questions were merely statements of fact regarding some projects the NPP administration had undertaken and, therefore, required no response.
He challenged Dr Bawumia to rather ask ‘better’ questions to warrant appropriate responses.
He reiterated his call on NDC supporters to vote in their numbers and be guided not to vote ‘skirt and blouse’.
The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, took issues with the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, for his refusal to participate in the recent presidential debate organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
According to him, the decision to boycott the debate was defeatist and that Nana Akufo-Addo chose to ‘run away’ from the debate when he rather should be the one calling for it.
Prez Mahama arrival at the Stadia
And Prez Mahama danced
Musicians who graced the rally and made it a total celebration were led by Amandzeba Nat Brew and included K. K. Kabobo, Gyedu Blay Ambulley and Shata Wale, who set the Accra Sports Stadium agog after President Mahama’s address, sending the President and all other dignitaries on stage dancing.
Statements
Earlier, the party leadership, including the Greater Accra Regional Vice-Chairperson, Mrs Sika Nartey; Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Saeed Sinare; the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye; the Finance Minister, Mr Seth Terkper; a former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, Mr Sylvester Mensah; the flag bearer of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr Henry Lartey, who declared support for the NDC when he was disqualified by the Electoral Commission (EC), among others, had urged the supporters to vote for President Mahama.