The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has assured the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, that, going into the 7th December presidential and parliamentary elections, his record in office “will speak for him”.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II made this known on Monday, 28th September 2020, when President Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace, at the commencement of a 3-day working visit of the Ashanti Region.
Addressing a durbar held in honour of the President, the Asantehene thanked the President for his continuous visit to Manhyia, both as leader of the opposition before the 2016 elections and as President of the Republic.
To this end, he stated that “Your good works in office will speak for you going forward into the election. We, in Asanteman, remember, we do not forget. Asanteman will, therefore, remember your good works on election day. All I can offer you is prayers and blessings.”
Even though Chiefs and traditional rulers are not to engage in partisan politics, the Asante noted that “we vote. We will vote based on the good works of the candidate.”
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, thus, urged President Akufo-Addo to direct his communicators and information dissemination machinery to “tell Ghanaians exactly what his Government has done and what is being done” in their respective communities, in the run-up to the December elections.
1,824 projects in Asanteman
On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Asantehene and Asanteman for the warm accorded him and his delegation on their arrival at Manhyia.
He explained that the purpose of his visit is officially to introduce himself, once again, to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as the New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate ahead of the December elections, and to seek his blessings for the contest.
The President also used the opportunity to introduce all of the party’s forty-seven (47) parliamentary candidates from the Ashanti Region, and appealed for the support of the Asantehene and Asanteman so the party can annex the three remaining constituencies, Asawase, Ejura Sekyedumase, and Sekyere Afram Plains, which eluded the party in the December 2016 polls.
Touching on his record in office, President Akufo-Addo told the Asantehene that development, under his tenure of office, has been distributed equitably to all parts of the country.
In the Ashanti Region, for example, the President indicated that a total of 1,824 projects are being undertaken, out of which 774 have been completed and 1,050 are still ongoing.
He told the Asantehene that there are 604 projects in the education sector, 92 in health, 151 road projects, 606 in the water and sanitation sector, 1 in aviation and 1 in the ports sector.
The Boankra inland Port Project, which has been on the drawing board for several decades, according to President Akufo-Addo, is set to receive parliamentary approval in November, with the $330 million funding needed for its construction already secured by Government.
