THE WESTERN Regional Chairman and an aspiring National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Peter Mac Manu, has said he wants to be elected as national chairman to enable him to fertilize the grounds, for who ever would be elected as the party's Presidential candidate to ensure victory come 2008.

He said that since the 2008 general elections would be fought on a different terrain, the party needed a person like him to lead it to another successive victory.

“I do commend Mr. Esseku for the good work he has done so far, that is, for winning the last election in the first round, but the battle ahead for 2008 is quite different as the terrain will be different,” he notedMr. Mac Manu said as President Kufuor, ‘the Magic Man' as he referred to him, who led the party in the previous elections will not be available in 2008, the party needed someone like him who can fertilize the grounds so much that who ever becomes the Presidential candidate will sow the seed in 2007 which will in turn mature into victory come 2008.

Mr. Mac Manu was speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, after, interacting with the NPP constituency executives from Fomena, Adansi-Asokwa, Akrofuom, Odotobri, New Edubiase and Obuasi, all in the Ashanti region, to seek their support in the forth- coming national election of the party.

He said he wants to be national chairman to enable him to bring his wealth of political experience spanning the period from polling station agent, through constituency executive to regional chairman, to bear on the party nationally.

He said his vision is to get the NPP win political power in 2008, consolidate and maintain it and expand the party's parliamentary seats from the current 128.

He said when voted for, he would strengthen the women groups to be vibrant in the party's activities, as well as put a searchlight on vote swingers and minority tribes and build teams that will activate and integrate them into the NPP fold.

He said he was well tested in the grounds of winning elections, raising funds, coalition building and conversant with the workings of the media and said he was not going to be a sitting chairman when voted for.

Mr. Mac Manu said, as the western regional chairman of the party, he led the campaign in the region that increased NPP's parliamentary seats from three in 1996 to eight in 2000 and again to 12 in 2004.

“I again have faith that the NPP delegates are discerning enough to be able to know who will take them to victory in 2008, and that is me Peter Mac Manu,” he stressed.

The aspiring national chairman said since the NPP is a democratic party and believes in internal democracy he will accept the outcome of the election as free and fair but said with his good track records he would come out victorious.

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