President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he has no preferred candidate among the aspirants seeking to replace him on the ticket of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The lead aspirants are Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and Minister of Trade Alan Kyerematen.
Speaking in an interview with Nandom FM in the Upper West Region, as part of his tour of the Region, President Akufo-Addo said he is neutral but wants somebody who will unite the party and beat their greatest opponent, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He said: “The only time that preference will be shown is when I go to vote, but until then, I have no preference”.
“My attitude is a simple one: just create the condition for a fair process – one that will enable, us after the completion [of the internal elections], to unite the party”, he explained.
The President said he wants “… somebody who will come and have the capacity to unite our party and put it in a position to confront the traditional opponent, the National Democratic Congress, and beat the National Democratic Congress”.
Meanwhile, the party has cautioned all flag bearer aspirants to comply with its code of conduct ahead of the internal polls and has arranged a meeting with them to that effect.
The move, according to the party, is to forestall any form of disunity as well as the tension that often arises in the lead-up to the presidential and parliamentary primaries.