Wednesday, September 04, 2013

UN LAUDS AKUFO-ADDO

Ambassador Said Djinnit (left) with Nana Akufo-Addo

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The United Nations has commended 2012 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the way and manner he handled himself before, during and after the disputed presidential election which the Supreme Court said President John Dramani Mahama won.

Ambassador Said Djinnit, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) in Dakar, Senegal, paid a courtesy call on Nana Akufo-Addo at his Nima residence in Accra to deliver the UN’s message of commendation.

He said the UN was full of admiration for Nana Akufo-Addo and his followers for choosing the legal option after dispute in the 2012 election and not plunge Ghana into chaos as it was witnessed in other countries in Africa.

“We congratulate you on your contribution to Ghana’s peace. You conducted yourself well during the difficult moments and the UN is full of admiration for you and your country,” Ambassador Djinnit said.

He said that he had always been reassured by the solidity of Ghana’s institutions saying “this is yet another evidence of the solidity of your institutions.”

“As an African, we feel proud for the successes that Ghana has chalked. We are proud of its democratic achievements.”

Ambassador Djinnit said “we congratulate you, your party and its followers. They used wisdom to put Ghana above any personal consideration.”

He said the time has come for other African countries to “draw lessons from what Ghana is doing.”

He urged Nana Akufo-Addo to continue to help in the shaping Ghana’s democracy saying “in some countries, things cannot just work.”

He tasked Ghana’s political leaders to always “find common ground” adding “the principle of common ground is key for the sustenance of democracy.”

For his part, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the UN that his party was committed to the sustenance of democracy and the fight for rule of law.

He said “I am happy we have gone through the electoral dispute process without any upheaval and we will continue to remain committed to the growth of democracy.”

Nana Akufo-Addo said that it was refreshing that Ghana has embraced the idea of democracy adding “to that extent I am very proud to be Ghanaian.”

He said the NPP was committed to consensus building and called on the UN to “continue to remain faithful to Ghana so that together we can address the myriad of problems facing our people.”

UNOWA is the first UN regional political office dedicated to conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding.

UNOWA facilitates a regional approach to address cross-border and crosscutting threats to peace and security in the sub-region and in particular, election-related instability, security sector reform challenges, terrorist activities and transnational organized crime including illicit drug trafficking.

UNOWA also promotes good governance and the rule of law as well as human rights and gender mainstreaming.


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