Bismark Bebli
5 November 2008
Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, wife of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has received a rousing welcome at Pokuase, a suburb of the Greater Accra Region, when she toured the area to canvass for votes for her husband and the NPP.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo, who was mobbed by party supporters in the various communities she went through. In the Trobu Amasaman constituency she charged the supporters to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo, because she thinks her husband is the best among all the aspirants.
Though escorts of Mrs. Akufo-Addo had a hectic time of controlling the enthusiastic crowd that surged forward to get close to her, amidst shouts of "Mama ohhh den de," she said the NPP had a proven track record and performance, and appealed to party supporters to retain the NPP in power in the forthcoming elections.
According to the wife of the NPP flagbearer, who was accompanied by the wives of party gurus, who battled the presidential primaries with Nana Addo, explained that it would be good for the nation to repose confidence in the NPP, and retain it to continue with the good works that it had began.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo, who spoke in Twi and Ga, assured the teeming supporters that she would ensure her husband, if elected, made good on his campaign promises, by constantly reminding him in the unlikely event that he forgot.
"One thing I promise you, if you vote the NPP back to power, you will never regret it. Voting NPP back to power will enable the NPP fine tune the people-centred policies it has put in place."
She cited the Capitation Grant, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), School Feeding Programme, and free bus rides for school children, to buttress her argument.
She also exhorted mothers to make sure that they sent their children, particularly their daughters, to school.
Mrs. Florence Frimpong Boateng, wife of Prof. Frimpong Boateng, a member of the campaign team, said Ghanaians had come to enjoy peace and tranquility under the Kufuor led NPP administration, and to vote for the NDC, would be a vote for a return to human rights abuses.
She asked Ghanaians not to forget the days when they had to eat yellow corn, and when women were undressed and beaten in public.
"By your vote, send the NDC a message that we do not want a return of Rawlings through the back door."
The NPP parliamentary candidate for Trobu Amasaman, Mr. Moses Anim, promised to work hard to lobby for further infrastructural development in the Trobu Amasaman constituency if he won in December.
He asked the people to vote for him and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, because "It will be easier to work for your needs, if the parliamentarian and the president come from the same party, in this instance the party that has already started a good work in this constituency."
Mrs. Akufo-Addo was in the company of Cecilia Eguakun, Obaa Yaa Afrifa, Julie Addo Yobo, Theresa Goka, Regina Nyantekyi Owusu, Akosua Newman, Mamuna Issaka, Winifred Asiedu, and the Greater Accra Chairman of the party, Sammy Crabbe.
Her next point of call was the Adenta constituency. By the time Aunty Becky, as she is popularly called, and her entourage got to the Atomic Junction, many members of Adenta NPP were waiting to escort her to the Adenta Lorry station, where the rally was scheduled to take place.
En route, passersby, on seeing the NPP insignia on the cars, would stop to wave, make the kangaroo sign or shout "we are moving forward."
It was a joy to watch, as Aunty Becky took time to reciprocate the shouts and signs along with other members of her team. By the time the team reached the Adenta Lorry Station, the number of cars had swollen to become a very long convoy. When Mrs. Akufo-Addo's car entered the lorry station, the welcome was deafening.
To all indications it appears the first lady-to-be has her own constituency among the NPP faithful, the women, as women of all ages were jostling for space to get close to her.
This infectious welcome was extended to the wives of the presidential aspirants of the December congress, who accompanied Mrs. Akufo Addo.
Flanked by Mrs. Frimpong Boateng, Mrs. Konadu Apraku, and Mrs. Addo Kufuor, Aunty Becky's address was interrupted, time without number, by shouts of "Eshi," "We are moving forward," and "Go High", slogans which are now synonymous with the NPP.
She asked them to endorse the good work of the NPP administration, by voting it back to power.
Mrs. Agnes Okudzeto, First Vice Chairperson of the NPP and a resident of Adenta herself, spoke in Ewe, and told the people the NPP was not an Ashanti party, but a party for all Ghanaians.
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