Mr. and Mrs Rawlings took their party's campaign strategy of making false and defamatory allegations against Nana Akufo-Addo to another level when they accused the 2008 New Patriotic Party Presidential Candidate of spending the last 37 years holding himself fraudulently as a qualified lawyer. Mrs. Rawlings went as far as saying Nana Akufo-Addo's four-year practice as associate counsel with top French law firm, Coudert Feres (Brothers) of Paris was a big lie and that he was rather working as an Economist, returning to Ghana to fool the country on his law credentials. Nana Akufo-Addo, a former President of the Greater Accra Bar Association, a former Attorney-General and one of the foremost constitutional and human rights lawyers in Ghana, whose name is spread across the annual Law Reports of Ghana [1975-2003], has consistently been at the receiving end of negative and vile opposition propaganda, refused to comment on this when contacted by The Statesman. Addressing a group of students at the former First Family's Ridge base, Mrs Rawlings went further to question President John Agyekum Kufuor's law credentials, as well. The Statesman has, however, says it cited a roll call of all lawyers called to the Ghana Bar from 1902-2000 which is contrary to the vituperative attacks by the former first couple. On that official list, Nana [William] Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo is down as the 1,190th person to enrol as a lawyer in Ghana. He was enrolled here on 8 July, 1975, using the address P. O. Box 207, Accra 58 other lawyers were called to the Bar that year. The list include, Fill S Tsikata (20/1/75), Mike Oquaye (30/l/75), Baafour-Gyirnah (16/7/75), Tsatsu Tsikata (8/8/75), H S Gbadegbe (2/10/75), R Tachie-Menson (2/ 10/75), Sophia Akufo (2/10/75), R N. C. Kakraba-Quarshie (2/1 0/75), J. P. A.Koi-Larbi (2/1 0/75), Nii Osah Mills (2/10/75), Mrs. Akoto-Bamfo, L. K. Abosu, Laary Bimi, Muhammad Mumuni, G A Agbolosoo-Mensah (5/11/75)and A. Tsegah (28/11/75), who, like most of the lawyers of the era, had earlier enrolled at the English Bar on 22/5/73. The NDC is still insisting that there is no indication that Nana has a degree in law. Nana [William] Akufo-Addo, graduated as an Economist at University of Ghana before moving to the UK in 1969 to study law. In England he took the Bar Vocational Course, and joined the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court that one must join in order to go through the initiation process of becoming a lawyer. In England, prospective barristers must first complete the academic stage of their legal education by obtaining a qualifying law degree but many undertake a one year law course having initially graduated in a subject other than law. It is not that different from Ghana where nearly half of duly qualified lawyers don't have an LLB (Bachelors of Laws) degree, because, like Akufo-Addo, they took another discipline for their first degree. Such graduates take the BL in Ghana or a conversion course in England known as a CPE (Common Professional Examination) or PGDL (Postgraduate Diploma in Law), and is now known simply as a GDL: a Graduate Diploma in Law. The student then joins one of the Inns of Court and takes the Bar Vocational Course (BVC) at one of the accredited providers. It is still mandatory to 'keep terms' before the student can be called to the bar in England. This involves undertaking 12 qualifying sessions, which may include dining in the Hall of the Inn. It used to be a pre-requisite that twenty-four dinners were eaten before call but the number has since been reduced to twelve. Apart from the Inner Temple, the others are the Middle Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's lnn. Further checks according to The Statesman shows that John Agyektun Kufuor, of Lincoln's Inn was bewigged at the English Bar on November 2I, l96l, along with C B L Zwennes, A. A. Aboagye-da Costa, A. K. Okine, O. O. Larbi, K. R. Andoh Korsah, I. K. Boakye, Joyce A. Bamford, A K Acheampong, J. A. Addo, W. B. Baddoo, T. K. Agadzi, K. D. Agyektun and J. W. Blankson-Mills. J A Kufuor was called to the Ghana Bar five months later on April 11, 1962. The NDC has been consistent in spreading false stories and insults about the NPP flag-bearer. They have been consistent in spreading a lie that the former Attorney-General and Foreign Minister is a hopeless cocaine addict who cannot be trusted with leadership. Remarkably, regardless of the very obvious physical signs of the NDC leader and flag-bearer being unhealthy, the NPP has resisted making the health of their main opponent a campaign issue. It was left to former President Rawlings, the NDC Founder and his group of hardcore loyalists, to make the health of Prof Mills an issue. Source: The Statesman