NPP can`t break NDC dominance of north… NPP supporters admit

Some vibrant members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the Tamale Metropolis, have admitted that the party cannot break the dominance of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the Northern Region, in the upcoming elections.

According to them, the current crop of regional executives of the party were “incapacitated,” and could not facilitate any victory for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, considering the complexity the December 2008 general elections would pose.

The NPP members, who disclosed this to The Chronicle in Tamale, asked the party's presidential candidate not to rely on the Northern Regional Executives, for his intended massive victory in the region.

They argued that though the executives appeared very loyal to the NPP, their behaviours and mode of operations, created a different picture all together.

“People see them as loyal members of the NPP, but they are not committed to the party. There is a difference between being loyal, and being committed to a cause. It is like marriage. A man can love a woman very well, but will not like to marry her. So we don't see that kind of, we are ready to die for NPP spirit in our executives, because they don't do anything for the party.”

It would be recalled that early this year, some angry youth of the NPP in the region, seized the official party vehicles of all the regional executives, including the Chairman and acting Secretary, Alhassan Yakubu Addo and Faisal Gbangili respectively, for using the vehicles for their private businesses.

The youth, most of whom were residents of Aboabo, also accused the Regional Executives of abandoning their responsibilities, and rather chasing District Chief Executives (DCEs) for contracts.

Soon after the action by the Aboabo youth, the executives of TESCON UDS branch also came out to attack the regional executives, for failing or refusing to honour about 15 invitations extended them, to address their meetings.

When contacted by The Chronicle, to ascertain the veracity of the assertions made by the youth, Mr. Abdul Ganiyu, who was the Northern Regional Spokesperson for Nana Akufo-Addo during the presidential primary, said the structures of the NPP in the region were built around the late Chairman, Alhaji Salifu COP, and the Regional Secretary, Mr. Clifford Braimah, who had also been out of the country for his PhD.

This, he observed, had affected the organization of the party, but he was quick to confirm the party would be at risk, if the capacities of the current executives were not strengthened immediately, before the electioneering campaign.

Mr. Abdul Ganiyu, also the Chief Administrator of NorthLink Consult Tamale, disclosed that after witnessing the rousing welcome that greeted Nana Akufo-Addo in the Upper West Region, and how the Regional Chairman, Alhaji Short, and his executives, teamed up to ensure a successful organization, he was convinced that the executives there were well-composed and up to the task.

Mr. Abdul Ganiyu was optimistic that the splendid performance of President Kufuor, in the Northern Region, would largely serve as a catalyst for the party's victory.

On the other hand, a close collaborator of the Northern Regional Chairman, Alhaji Kaleem, also an executive of the NPP Liberal Democrats, a youth wing in Tamale, in an interview, told The Chronicle that it was an open secret that the regional executives were non-performing, and would fail Nana Addo.

According to him, he and other floor members, after realizing the inefficiencies of the leaders, decided to ignore them (executives), and were playing the leadership roles to keep the NPP alive in the region.

All efforts to contact the Regional Chairman, Alhassan Yakubu Addo, and his acting Secretary, Mr. Faisal Gbangili, proved futile.

Meanwhile, Nana Akufo-Addo has targeted a 100% vote increase in the region, which is increasing the NPP parliamentary seats from eight to 16 out of the 26 seats, but the members believed a lot more needed to be done to achieve that.