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Activities in Kumasi, capital of Ashanti Region, are expected to come to a standstill today, as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Mahamudu Bawumia, presidential candidate and running mate respectively of the New Patriotic Party, storm the party�s stronghold today. Already, many areas of the capital city are awash with the red, white and blue colour of the elephant family in anticipation of today�s big event, the Youth Forum, which is billed to be one of the biggest youth gatherings in recent times. The Ashanti Regional Youth Forum is the second in the series of Regional Youth Fora being organized by the New Patriotic Party Youth Wing. Among the groups expected to participate in today�s forum are students, metal workers and artisans, merchants, youth traders, youths in the informal sector, Youth oriented NGOs, commercial vehicle drivers, sportsmen and sports women and youths in the arts. The first Regional Youth Forum which was held in the Eastern Region earlier this week has been described widely as a massive success and saw the presidential ticket of the NPP outlining their plans for employment creation, education and increasing the standard of living of ordinary Ghanaians. According to Kyeremanteng Boakye Agyarko, Campaign Manager of Nana Akufo-Addo, the interactions with the youth is very critical in view of the current despondency among them, arising out of the failure of the Mills-Mahama led NDC government to address the basic concerns confronting them. The essence of the Youth Forum, he explained, is �basically to demonstrate our commitment to the youth of Ghana and to also actively engage them through the electoral process and to let them tell their own stories, express their hopes, fear and aspirations so that together we can provide a solution to their request and that of the nation as a whole.� �The Mills-Mahama led government has shown that it does not have the answers to the problems facing the young people of this country, especially the major problem of joblessness, and they see the Nana Addo-Bawumia team as their hope into the future. It is sad that many of our young people seem to have lost total hope in the political leadership of the country, and that is why such interactions are important to offer them hope and further inspire them into the future,� Mr Agyarko told the New Statesman yesterday. Nana Addo�s Campaign Manager described their tour to some parts of the Eastern region as �hugely impressive and successful�, with the electorate indicating loudly their firm resolve to help Nana Addo and the NPP to win the December polls, to salvage the nation from the current leadership crisis it has been plunged into under President Mills. Venue for the Kumasi forum, the sports arena of Kumasi Polytechnic, is expected to be filled to capacity, with various youth groups in the Ashanti Region expected to be in attendance to listen to the message of hope and inspiration by Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate. The big attention, according to party functionaries, would be on the party�s running mate, Dr Bawumia, who would be interacting with the electorate in the NPP�s stronghold for the first time since he was appointed the vice presidential candidate. The Regional Youth Organiser of the party, Gideon Boako, told the New Statesman that both Nana Addo and Dr Bawumia would take turns to address the youth and explain the party�s policies and programmes for the youth of this country. Accompanying the presidential ticket would be the National Chairman of the party, Jake, Obetsebey Lamptey, the General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, and a host of other past ministers as well as leading functionaries of the elephant family. Mr Boako stated that the intention of the forum is to bring together all the youth in the region, including young professionals, traders, artisans and businessmen to interact with the presidential candidate and his running mate. �The youth of this region have recoiled into their shells and we need men of great wisdom, vision and patriotism to revamp and bring back such hope in them, and we thought it wise to bring these two leaders to whip up the can-do spirit in the youth,� he emphasized.