Minister Boys Go Wild In Damongo

The FOAM members vandalising the NDC office in Damongo

A group calling itself Friends of Alhaji Muniru (FOAM), purported to be supporting the parliamentary bid of the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru-Limuna, has allegedly vandalized his campaign office in Damongo.

The actions of the group, mostly youth of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Damongo constituency, were in protest against the announcement by the minister to pull out of the November 7 parliamentary primaries of the party.

They accused him of betraying their cause and allowing himself to be manipulated by 'powers-that-be' without considering the interest of the masses of voters in the constituency.

They took to the principal streets of Damongo, the West Gonja District capital, chanting war songs and resolved to withdraw their support for the NDC party in 2016, if the minister did not rescind his decision to withdraw from the contest.

Numbering over 500, the youth, clad in party colours with some wearing red arm bands, maintained that it was wrong for the minister to withdraw from a contest they were optimistic he would win against the incumbent Member of Parliament, Adam Mutawakiliu.  The rampaging youth wielded placards, some of which read; 'No Alhaji Muniru, No vote for the NDC,' 'Let's practise democracy in NDC,' 'We have suffered for long, Alhaji must pick the form.'

Spokesperson of FOAM, Asumah Sherif alias Pororo, disclosed that the youth in the area would not relent in their effort to ensure that Alhaji Limuna rescinds his decision since he is regarded as the 'political heavyweight' of the area.

The Damongo District Police Commander, ASP Opoku Agyemang Prempeh, has described the action of the youth as shocking, stating that it took  the police by surprise and accused the youth from Busunu and Larabaga of being the main instigators for the demonstration.

Meanwhile, the personal assistant and campaign manager of the Northern Regional minister, Dramani Ecomog, has condemned the violence that characterized the demonstration.

Ecomong described the path chosen by the youth as 'gross insubordination,' stressing that violence is not the way to address grievances in the NDC.

It has however, emerged that President John Dramani Mahama was among key personalities who persuaded the minister to put on hold his ambition and allow the incumbent, who he openly commended during the commissioning of the Fofulso-Sawla road, to go.

The president at the commissioning, disclosed to the people in the area to thank their MP for his instrumentality (during his tenure as DCE) in ensuring that the road takes shape.

From Stephen Zoure, Tamale