Accra — In the past week or two, perhaps in deference to the approaching penultimate day of the Ghana@50 celebrations, NPP presidential aspirants reined in their horses and all was quiet on the succession front.

A few days before the penultimate day, Dr. Arthur Kennedy landed from the US not only to take part in the celebrations, but also to intensify his campaign on the ground.

He called ADM to announce his arrival.

ADM can also report authoritatively that Vice President Aliu Mahama is putting finishing touches to his consultations and an announcement is expected anytime soon formalizing his candidature.

Mr. Dan Botwe, former General Secretary of the party and one of the candidates seeking to be elected as the New Patriotic Party's presidential candidate for election 2008, has already taken to the field and from reports is speeding round the various constituencies to announce his presence.

Last week, he expressed concern over a contentious issue during one of his rounds: the proposal that the party's filing fee should be set at 500 million cedis.

He said even though the amount suggested could help the party to raise revenue for its electoral campaigns, it was important not to send signals that the party was for sale to only the rich. Mr. Botwe was speaking last weekend to journalists in Cape Coast after a tour of the region's 19 constituencies.

However, he was quick to point out that it was too early to confirm that 500 million cedis was the amount decided on by the party. The decision on the amount, he explained, might be taken when it was left with about three months for the party to go to congress. On the outcome of his tour, he said it was successful in the sense that he was given warm reception by the executives of all the constituencies he visited.

Mr. Botwe said there was the need to assist President John Agyekum Kufuor to implement the party's manifesto to enable him to bequeath a befitting legacy to the nation.

He said it was only when President Kufuor bequeathed a befitting legacy to the nation that anybody who was elected by the party's delegates to become its flag bearer would win the 2008 general elections massively.

On the issue of age, Mr. Botwe said it should not be a dominant factor in determining who becomes the flag bearer because Dr Kwame Nkrumah was 42 years old when he became the Prime Minister in 1951 and at Ghana's Independence in 1957 he was 48. "I am now 51 years old".

He said in 1998 when the party went to congress to elect its flag bearer, Mr. J. H. Mensah was 10 years older than President Kufuor but the delegates ignored their age difference and voted for Mr. Kufuor.

Mr. Botwe said what must be of concern to all was what one could do for the party and the nation at large.

The issue of which of the aspirants has a war chest brimming with campaign funds has been hinted at generally in the media with no clear evidence yet to show who is leading money.