Akufo-Addo, artistes get together

Politics (lead) Jan 19, 2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

THE presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reached out to personalities in the entertainment industry with a pledge to revamp the sector as one of the key players in the development of the country.
According to him, without entertainment, the country would be a boring place to live in, hence the need to make the sector more vibrant, both locally and internationally.
Nana Akufo-Addo made the pledge when he hosted a large gathering of personalities in the entertainment industry to a buffet lunch at his father’s residence at Nima in Accra on Thursday.
As early as 11.00 a.m., some of the personalities, including Mac Tontoh of Osibisa fame, Grace Omaboe of Obra fame, Tic Tac, Amakye Dede the Iron Boy, aka Serious, C.K. Mann, Apeatus and the Music Man, Kojo Antwi, began arriving to tumultuous welcome by some enthusiastic fans and supporters of their host.
The other entertainment personalities were Ben Brako, Bishop Bob Okala, Amy Newman, Charles Amoah, Emmanuel Armah, Mark Okraku Mante of TV3 Mentor fame, the controversial Faizal Helwani, Agya Koo, X Doe and Nana Ampadu.
Some politicians who joined in the fun were Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Dr Arthur Kennedy, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, among others.
Thrilled by the size of the gathering, Nana Akufo-Addo said those in the entertainment industry deserved a lot of respect and recognition, as pertained in other parts of the world, because of their contribution to the uplift of the soul of the people.
He said although in Ghana many people loved Ghanaian music and also watched Ghanaian movies, those in the industry were still not being given their due.
“Should God do me the honour to become the next President of the land, this will be a thing of the past and it is against this background that I invited you here to give you that assurance,” he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo said the industry needed restructuring and pledged to tackle the problems from the top when he got to the Flagstaff House, the new seat of government, next year.
“I will make you to realise your dreams, just like your counterparts in other countries, because you really deserve that,” he said, amidst wild cheers from the entertainers.
He prayed that the year would be a good one, not only for politicians but the country as a whole.
In response, Nana Ampadu, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said he and his colleagues appreciated the invitation and promised to be there for him whenever they were called upon for their support in any form.
He said they were all of the belief that Nana Akufo-Addo stood for the poor and marginalised and asked for blessings upon his campaign in his bid to win the general election in 2008.
After the speeches and other solidarity messages, the musicians took turns to entertain the gathering with some spectacular performances.