Vote for John Mahama … Minister urges Sissala voters
From Musah Umar Farouq, Gwolu
The Upper West Regional Minister, Amin Amidu Sulemani, has called on voters in the Sissala West and East constituencies to vote massively for President John Dramani Mahama in the December elections to deepen the long standing relationship between them and the President.
Traditionally, there is a playmate relationship between the Sissala and the Gonja ethnic grouping of the Northern Region, from which President Mahama hails.
Alhaji Sulemani made the call when he launched his campaign for the Sissala West Constituency parliamentary seat at Gwollu in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region.
The Regional Minister stated that a vote for him would also complete the wish of President Mahama, since the latter needed all his parliamentary candidates to support him run an effective and vibrant government to continue delivering the ‘Better Ghana Agenda’.
Sulemani urged all his supporters to go about their campaign peacefully, devoid of any violence, to enhance peaceful and successful elections.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor, appealed to the constituents to desist from the practice of voting ‘skirt and blouse’ as they did in the 2004 and 2008 elections, saying that the practice deprived the district of certain developmental needs.
Dr. Kunbuor, who is also the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Nandom Constituency, said there were many things the NDC could point to in the area of education, health, agriculture, and road infrastructure.
He advised supporters of the party to conduct their campaign based on the government’s performance, and avoid personality attacks.
The Minister of Health, Alban Bagbin, said Sulemani had for a long a time offered himself to serve his people, adding that the experience the Regional Minister had gathered put him in a better position to represent his constituents well in parliament than any other candidate.
Bagbin, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nadowli West, stated that President Mahama would win the 2012 elections, and that it was better for them to have an MP whose presidential candidate was in power, than a “hanging MP.”
The District Chief Executive for Sissala West, Mr. Moses Dramani Luri, said the performance of the NDC in the district had overshadowed that of the NPP in all areas.
He said since the NDC assumed office in 2009, a total of 108 development projects had been undertaken in the district, as against a total of 44 projects in the eight years of the NPP administration.
On rural electrification, the DCE indicated that for the eight years the NPP had been in power, it was able to connect electricity to only seven communities, whereas the NDC, within its first four years, had already connected 40 communities to the national electricity grid.
Mr. Luri added that under the NPP, only three communities benefited from the School Feeding Programme in the district, as against 44 communities under the NDC’s first term in office.
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