A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said that rising wave of support which his campaign message is attracting to NPP delegates in the final days, leaves him in no doubt that he will win the upcoming NPP presidential elections.
The massive wave is such that the worst outcome will be to push the entire race into a second round.
According to him, the new wave of support blowing across the entire UP fraternity suggests that dissemination of his message for the Party has now gathered speed and that most of the delegates are now convinced that he has the formula to raise morale amongst the grassroots to fight for victory in Dec 2024
Addressing a cross-section of the media in Accra at his Ridge campaign office to wrap-up his campaign, Dr. Akoto, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture said this recent rapid mood change among delegates in favor of Dr. Akoto has been observed by both his team and independent observers.
“In the past few weeks, my field visits have clearly shown a ‘wave’ sweeping through the support that I enjoy among delegates across the country. This is confirmed both by our monitoring teams and independent research.
“These fast-emerging trends in the mood of the electorates encourage me to make a passionate appeal to the undecided voters to make up their minds firmly to vote for Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto on Saturday”, he noted.
In terms of the Party, Dr. Akoto’s vision is inspired by the liberal philosophy of the Founding Fathers of the UP tradition, a tradition that his father, Baffour Osei Akoto, was a founder of.
A central part of his vision for the Party is to establish Party-owned businesses that will create employment opportunities for the Party activists and generate funds to support the Party. He told the media that the establishment of these Party-owned businesses is premised on the ANC model in South Africa.
“My vision for the nation is by now well-known to all Ghanaians. It is to give priority to agriculture in the allocation of public resources to support both small and large-scale famers to generate the needed resources to fund our economic development”, he emphasised.
To this end, he has urged the delegates to look beyond any tempting one-off monetary enticement and think about the future of the Party for the sake of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
“Delegates, stand with me on the side of the great UP tradition of our forefathers”, he underscored.
“My appeal at this late stage is that you delegates should not be tempted by offers which may provide a one-day relief and leave our Party in the sand. Think of our history, our traditions and past victories and the great sacrifices of our forefathers and vote Akoto”, he noted.
The NPP goes to the polls on Saturday, November 4, 2023, to select a presidential candidate who will lead the party to the 2024 general elections.
Dr. Akoto is number 3 on the ballot paper. He placed 4th in the Super Delegates Conference held on August 26, 2023.
Over 210,000 delegates are expected to vote in the National Delegates Conference on November 4, 2023.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
