The advertisement of President John Mahama in the Daily Guide, a newspaper owned by the acting Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) – Freddie Blay – and his wife, Gina, is an indication that the former Ellembelle MP is fully aware his presidential nominee is losing the December 7 elections, Mr Koku Anyidoho, a Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said.
The Daily Guide has lately carried advertisements of the NDC and President John Mahama, in connection with the December polls. Mr Mahama is seeking a new four-year term.
The paper followed a similar trajectory in the run-up to the 2012 elections, carrying advertisements of Mr Mahama.
Speaking in connection with this development in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Tuesday September 27, Mr Anyidoho said: “I don’t know where the Daily Guide gets the advert from, but I know that no matter the commercial value that will accrue to me, if I have a newspaper, there is no way I will advertise Akufo-Addo in my newspaper, never.”
“Nothing will tempt me to advertise Akufo-Addo in my paper, so if Freddie Blay is busily advertising President Mahama, it tells you he doesn’t have confidence in his candidate (Nana Akufo-Addo). And, so, to go hungry and at the same time lose the elections, he will prefer to be satisfied through advertising President Mahama.”
He added: “The underpinning argument is that no matter where he gets it (advertisement) from, no matter who gives it to him, if I was in his position as the pretending acting chairman of the NDC and I have a newspaper, there is no way I will place an advert of Akufo-Addo in the paper, just to even give confidence to your party supporters.”
What Mr Blay is doing, according to Mr Anyidoho, “is just telling the NPP that, first of all, he is not an NPP person; he is a CPP man who joined the NPP and so his association with the NPP is not genuine. He has no confidence in his flag bearer, it is as simple as that. Freddie Blay knows Akufo-Addo is losing the elections; even the NPP themselves know he is losing the elections. I am telling you for a fact today Freddie Blay knows Akufo-Addo is losing the 2016 elections and if he says I am lying, he should come and challenge me. So he will not want to lose money by refusing to advertise President Mahama.
“This development is good for us in the NDC; that the Chairman of the NPP is busily advertising the candidate of the NDC. It sends strong signals to even the international community that the acting chairman of the NPP is aware that his candidate is a bad candidate.”
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