NDC executives in N/R to address members’ concerns

The Northern Regional executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have pledged to address the concerns of more than 200 members of its Tamale Central Constituency branch.
Over 200 branch and ward executives yesterday threatened to boycott all party activities in the constituency.

They accused the regional and constituency executives of the party of building houses and buying cars for themselves whilst majority of party supporters in the various constituencies continued to starve.

The executives said they were protesting the failure of both the regional and national executives to recognise their sacrifices to the party.

According to the spokesperson of the constituency branch executives, Mr Issah Daballi, the actions of both the regional and national executives, if not checked could send the party into opposition in 2016.

“The NDC risk going back to opposition if the executives do not find a better way of relating to party faithful at the grassroots who are always at the forefront fighting for the party during electioneering periods,” he indicated.

He therefore appealed to the Presidency to “call the executives to order before things go out of order.”

But the Tamale Central Constituency Chairman of the NDC, Alhaji Ibrahim Yussif Andani, dismissed the allegations in an interview.

Reacting to the allegation, he, together with some party executives from the constituency, described the allegations as false and without any merit.

Alhaji Ibrahim explained that President John Mahama met with party functionaries and executives in Tamale after attending the special congregation organised by the University for Development Studies to honour former President Rawlings and tasked them to explain issues and developments in the party to the grassroot supporters.

He said subsequent to that directive given by the president, the Northern Region was divided into three zones, with a team each to tour the various constituencies and meet with branch executives who would also go and meet the grassroot supporters.

He said the Tamale Central Constituency was in a zone which had party gurus like Iddrisu Haruna, Ibrahim Adams, Deputy National Women Organiser, Hajia Zenabu, and the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Bede Ziedeng, as members of the team.

Alhaji Ibrahim continued that last Friday was scheduled as the day the team was to meet executives of the Tamale Central Constituency at the Centre for National Culture “and just as the people had assembled waiting for them, we had information that former First Lady Naadu Mills was in town to distribute Bibles to some senior high schools.”

He said members of the team decided to go and assist her in the Bible distribution exercise, and he was asked to go and apologise to the party executives who had gathered at the venue to inform them of the cancelled meeting.

“When I went and explained things to them, majority of them understood me and even applauded me for the deep sense of apology I rendered and it is therefore, surprising that some of them could come out later to level all kinds of unsubstantiated allegations against constituency and regional executives of the party,” he explained further.

He said some of the branch executives had started disassociating themselves from the allegations levelled against them by those few disgruntled members.

By  Marcelinus Dery/Daily Graphic/Ghana