Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant, Francis Addai-Nimoh, is once again lacing his boot to compete in the election that will take place later this year.
Mr Addai-Nimo, who is also a former NPP Member of Parliament for the Mampong Constituency in Ashanti Region made a formal announcement for the bid at a news conference in Accra, yesterday.
He said his decision to run again was based on a wide range of consultation and advice from some top wigs of the party and that he made an informed decision.
According to him, he would therefore pick form when nominations open, adding that he would put to work his professional acumen and values to retain the party in power come the 2024 general election.
“I am humbled that my astute team has assessed my qualifications and motivations using some three criteria.
Driven by my personal convictions, I am confident that my professional background and values can be useful in shaping the necessary initiatives that will significantly improve our country and coupled with the clarion call, I have been receiving over these last years from our party members, rank and file and from wide consultations with elders of the party.
I, Addai-Nimoh, have thereby decided and officially announce my candidacy to be elected as the next flagbearer of the NPP,” he told the gathering.
Mr Addai-Nimoh promised to unite the party and also build on the gains made by the current government led by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
He said, if elected, he would be the first presidential candidate to lead the party break the eight-year political cycle of governance.
He noted that fractured NPP would not win elections in 2024 and therefore urged party faithful to elect among the aspirants who can be a“relentless unifier.”
The aspirant said he would be a leader who would not be trapped in any factional exchanges.
According to him, it was worrying that several factions had emerged in the NPP, saying that “I am not afraid to say things loud and clear that those factions have over time become an entrenched phenomenon that frankly has no place in our party.
“Simply put such factions can only cost a devastating erosion of our relevance in the eyes of our electors.
“The prevailing circumstances of our party now require a new face as the next presidential candidate,” he added.
“One must be a natural unifier, not an artificial unifier, that new face must have an unblemished character and a history of service you need to have an unblemished character so that people can testify about you.
Mr Addai-Nimoh was born March 23, 1965, a Christian and is married with three children.
He hails from Mampong-Nyinampong, a town in the Ashanti Region. He attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1993.
He also attended the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and obtained an executive master’s degree in Public Administration.
Mr Addai-Nimoh is a development planner and also a civil engineer by profession.
He also served as a Member of Parliament for Mampong between 2008 and 2016.
He contested in the NPP’s presidential primaries in 2014 and lost. He further lost the bid to represent the party in the 2015 presidential primaries.
