EXCLUSIVE...........YENDI

Reports from Yendi indicate that tension is very high among supporters of contestants for the NPP parliamentary primaries for the Yendi constituency NPP seat. The contestants : 1.Alhaji Malik Alhassan MP (Being backed by the DCE) 2.Alhaji Lukman Iddrissu (Being backed by the Vice Prez) The primaries were expected to have taken place on Thursday (2nd September 2004) at 9.30am, but as at 8.00am supporters of the contestants stormed the area “armed with all manner of objects”. There were no officials from the Regional EC office as well as party officials from the Northern Regional Capital.

The military and Police were informed by 8.15 am of the development in Yendi and within 40 minutes troops arrived to contain the situation. According to Mr. Lukman a letter was faxed to him from the Partys Head office DISQUALIFYING him and DECLARING Malik UNOPPOSED, this did not go down well with his supporter and the office of the Vice Prez consequently they filed a writ at the Tamale High Court. They were therefore shocked when they heard that the primaries were coming on.

THE NEWS…After all the groups have dispersed, the DCE and one Mr. Haruna Tia a former close business associate of the Vice President and now a friend of Malik gathered a group of people at the Yendi Secondary School and declared Malik Alhassan THE NPP CANDIDATE FOR THE CONSTITUENCY BY acclamation……………Alhaji Lukman has called for the results to be nullify or he will go INDEPENDENT.