President Nana Akufo-Addo is wondering what former President John Mahama and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are coming back to do with their quest to win the 2020 general elections.

Speaking at the governing New Patriotic Party’s National Delegates Conference at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre at La, Accra, the President said Mr Mahama, who is the flag bearer of the NDC, together with the biggest opposition party, have already been rejected by the people of Ghana since they have no programme.

“Our opponents, our competitor is the NDC, the party under its flag bearer that is seeking to return to power in Ghana. The question that the people of Ghana are going to ask in 2020 is: What are they coming back to do? What is the programme of the NDC under the leadership of John Dramanai Mahama? What was the programme? What is the record that they are coming to defend in 2020? 3.6 per cent rate of growth, negative growth in agriculture, negative growth in industry, high inflation, high deficit, IMF Programme? Is that what they are coming back to defend in 2020?

“The Ghanaian people have already rejected that programme and there’s no other programme in its place”, Mr Akufo-Addo declared.

He, thus, urged his party to stay united so it can win the 2020 polls to continue with its agenda to transform the country. “So, we have a responsibility to stay together, and with that, I am very confident that by the grace of the Almighty, that on the 7th, 8th of December 2020, we’re going to hear, once again, good news in Ghana here; the Electoral Commission, will declare victory for the NPP presidential candidate and for the New Patriotic Party in the elections that are coming in December 2020”.

The President told the Conference that the work of the government is the work of the party.

“The government that is in office today is the creation of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). It is an NPP administration. I was the NPP presidential candidate who won the election so it is an NPP administration that we have today in Ghana. And the strong performance of this government that you’ve heard being described by – they call him the Walewale Adams Smith – he is not Walewale Adam Smith, he is Walewale Mahamudu Bawumia in his own right.

“What it means is that we have placed ourselves in a position to go for victory in 2020. 2020 is going to see another emphatic victory of the NPP in the elections for 2020”, the President noted.

Mr Akufo-Addo said his confidence that the NPP will win the elections stems from the massive crowds that welcome him during his trips around the country in the past three years.

“I have not stayed, all these three years, only in the Jubilee House. I have been travelling around the country, consistently, to see for myself, where we are”, the President said, indicating the number of times he has been in each of the 16 regions to buttress his point. “Ahafo – 4 times, Ashanti – 29, Bono – 7, Bono East – 2, Central Region – 14, Eastern Region – 10, Greater Accra – countless, Northern Region – 24, North East – 3, Savanna Region – 4, Oti – 3, Upper East – 11, Upper West – 8, Volta Region – 6, Western Region – 17 and Western North – 6”.

“I know all of Ghana and I’ve been visiting, so, you don’t have a President who is just sitting in office but a President who is seeing what is going on around in Ghana and what I’ve seen, which encourages me, is the strong support of the Ghanaian people for the work that we’ve done all over the country.

“Everywhere that I go, I am being met by large crowds of enthusiastic people. They are the ones who began the cry: ‘Four more for Nana’”, Mr Akufo-Addo told the crowd of NPP supporters.

He noted, however, that without unity of purpose, the party’s efforts would amount to nothing.

“So, the two ingredients, unity amongst ourselves; unity amongst ourselves. In April, we are going to select our candidates in constituencies where we have Members of Parliament. It is extremely important that this process goes on in a sensible, peaceful and serene manner.

“The whole country will be looking at us. We are the party in government. We shouldn’t go and do this exercise with a lot of fighting, backbiting unnecessarily. It is the victory of the party that matters. It is not the victory of any individual. It is the victory of the party that matters and I want all of us to bear that in mind.

“Without the victory of the party, we won’t be sitting here like how we’re sitting here today. We all should remember that the party is bigger than each and every single one of us, including myself. This party is over 70 years old and we’ve been through a lot.

“We went through the difficulties of the first republic, we’ve been through the various coup d’états but each time, we’ve come out stronger and today, we are strong as we’ve ever been in our history, so, we have a responsibility; the responsibility is that the transformation of Ghana that the people of Ghana are looking for, cannot take place without the NPP in office. Our party is the only party capable of engineering and masterminding the transformation of Ghana to a prosperous and forward-looking country and economy. The NPP is the only party, in our present situation, that can do that. So, let us stand together, we are not each other’s opponents or enemies”.