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Time to unite nation - Duncan-Williams tells President Mahama

• Archbishop Duncan-Williams praying for President Mahama and wife, Lordina during their visit to the Action Chapel International on the Spintex Road in Accra.  Picture: EBOW HANSON The General Overseer of the Christian Action Faith Ministries, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to rise above pettiness, unite the nation and create opportunities for all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political, ethnic or religious affiliations.

He said the period after the election petition was not the time for vengeance against perceived political opponents but a time for the President to unite all Ghanaians because ''division will cause us to lose our sense of direction''.

He also asked members of the other political parties and all Ghanaians not to fold their hands and watch the President but rather support him to succeed in building the nation, since ''any nation divided against itself shall not stand''.

Archbishop Duncan-Williams made the call at a thanksgiving service to pray and thank God for guiding the country peacefully throughout the election petition at the Action Chapel International on the Spintex Road in Accra yesterday.

After eight months of hearing of the election petition, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the declaration of President Mahama as the winner of the 2012 election.

President Mahama, his wife, Lordina; the Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani; the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Kwabena Adjei; the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and ministers attended the service.

Songs of praise, worship, prayers and Bible readings characterised the thanksgiving service attended by hundreds of members of the church and supporters and sympathisers of the NDC.

Speaking on the theme, ''Synergy'',  Archbishop Duncan-Williams said a former South African President, Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years in the apartheid era, had the chance to punish his ''enemies'' after he was released from prison and became President.

However, he said, Mandela did not use the power to destroy his opponents ''but used it to unite and build the nation''.

The Archbishop said President Mahama needed to create the environment for members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and other Ghanaians to do business without any intimidation.

He again stressed the need for the President to unite the various ethnic groups and ensure the equitable sharing of resources and appointments.

Archbishop Duncan-Williams urged President Mahama to let the unity of the country be the legacy that he would leave behind after his tenure.

He prayed to God to make it possible for the President to be remembered as a President who did not rule for only a few people but for the prosperity of all Ghanaians.

He again prayed to God to protect the President against any calamities and guide him to govern the country and bring prosperity to all Ghanaians.

Archbishop Duncan-Williams thanked God for the peaceful outcome of the election petition and lauded Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the 2012 presidential candidate of the NPP, for the courage and humility he demonstrated in accepting the judgement and calling President Mahama to congratulate him.

He said Nana Akufo-Addo would go down in history as a true statesman.

The Archbishop commended the supporters of the NDC and the NPP for putting Ghana first and lauded the justices of the Supreme Court, the security services and the media for their respective roles in ensuring peace in the country during and after the election petition.

By Musah Yahaya Jafaru/Daily Graphic/Ghana

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