BE VIGILANT DURING ELECTIONS — MILLS (PAGE 16)

THE flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, has admonished NDC faithful to remain calm, peaceful, honest and faithful but vigilant during the forthcoming elections.
He said as a man of peace and repute, he would not inflame passions to create chaos in the country.
Addressing separate rallies during a tour of parts of the Central Region, Professor Mills explained that he refused to accept the National Award due to the polarisation it created among sections of the Ghanaian populace.
He said he took the independent decision without the prompting of anyone but in the interest of national peace.
Professor Mills said as a man of peace and unity, he thought the award would help heal the wounds of the past and reconcile the people.
He said he realised that when his name was mentioned among the recipients, comments made about his nomination polarised the populace, at a time when Ghanaians should be preaching peace, unity and reconciliation before the December 7 elections.
He said since the comments generated an atmosphere of bitterness, he decided to decline the award to calm all the nerves in the national interest.
He reminded Ghanaians of the current hardships they were facing and said they should not allow themselves to be influenced by empty promises, gifts and money to sell their votes but exercise their franchise based on the issues and their genuine conscience.
A member of the NDC campaign team, Mr Ato Ahwoi, said the government was paying the cocoa farmer less than the 70 per cent it claimed it was paying because while a tonne of cocoa sold at GH¢3,200, the government paid the farmer GH¢1,200.
The National Women’s Organiser of the party, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, advised the people to be wary of empty promises and vote massively for the NDC to reverse the hardships they were going through under the NPP administration.
The visit took the team to Denkyira Asikuma, Kyekyewere, Dunkwa-on-Offin, Nyame Bekyere, Stom, Diaso, Denkyira Obuasi and Anyanfuri in the Upper Denkyira East and Upper DenkyiraWest constituencies.

...AND CELEBRATES DAY WITH ORPHANS

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearer, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, who turned 64 on Monday, has reached out to orphans of the Peace & Love Orphanage at Frafraha, near Accra with donations amounting to several million cedis.
Represented by his wife, Mrs Naadu Mills, Professor Mills presented a number of items, including bags of rice, bags of sugar, gallons of cooking oil, boxes of drinks, food seasoning, and boxes of biscuits to the orphanage.
Mrs Mills said she and her husband were contributing their widow’s mite to the orphanage and expressed the hope that the fortunate in society would always reach out to the less fortunate.
"My husband believes that there is more blessing in giving than there is in receiving and believes in sharing, hence this humble gesture of ours," said Mrs Mills.
A teacher herself, just like her husband, Mrs Mills thanked the teachers for the huge sacrifices they were making in the education of the kids and encouraged them to keep up their good work.
Mrs Mills also had a word of caution for the youth: “You must stay away from premarital sex”.
According to the educationist, it was when people were not ready for children and yet went ahead and engaged in sexual relations that there would be unwanted pregnancies and the abandoning of babies.
Mr Eric Adu Opare, the supervisor at the orphanage, thanked Mrs Mills and her husband for their very kind gesture and gave the assurance that the orphanage was most grateful.
On the issue of the sacrifices that the teachers were making, the supervisor said: "As teachers, we hope that when you and your husband become the President and First Lady, you would pay particular attention to the plight of teachers, especially those of us who are sacrificing the way we are doing."
It would be recalled that last year, Professor Mills celebrated his birthday at the Saltpond Hospital, where he donated lots of items to the hospital.
Indeed, the year before, he also celebrated his birthday at the Osu Children’s Home.
Mrs Naadu Mills was accompanied by the Parliamentary candidate for Adenta, Mr Kojo Adu Asare; Ms Kakra Vanlare, Greater Accra Vice Chairperson; Nii Lantey Vanderpuje, Director of Operations of the Mills Campaign Team; Koku Anyidoho, Head of Communications, Mills Campaign Team; Miss Clarissa Acolatse, Office of Prof. Mills and other executive of the Adenta Constituency.