My Constituents Are Satisfied – Bagbin

The MP for Nadowli North, Mr. Alban Bagbin, has explained that he is still interested in the parliamentary seat because of the satisfaction he derives from serving his constituents. “What is urging me on is my constituents who are satisfied with my performance and are grateful for what I have done for them in terms of dedication and duty and more so having risen to the national level.

Reacting to accusations from some of his constituents of breach of trust and confidence, Mr. Bagbin who is also the minority leader said he was not perturbed since those issues came up in 2000.

He stated that he did not enter into an agreement with anybody that he was not going to contest the parliamentary seat after 1996 election.

Mr. Bagbin explained that what he rather did was that in 1996, he announced at about two rallies that he was not going to contest the 2000 elections. He said he maintained that position until the year 2000 when the national executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) intervened and persuaded him to rescind his decision, which he did in the supreme interest of the party. "It is politically suicidal for a general to withdraw from the battle field when he was needed most," Mr. Bagbin said.

On his relationship with the constituency chairman, Mr. Issahaque Dapilah, Bagbin described it as not the best because Dapilah was peeved after unsuccessful attempts to contest as a parliamentary candidate on the ticket of NDC.

On the allegation that he bussed students from the Wa campus of the university for development studies and Jahan training college to register in his constituency, Bagbin denied it. He described the voters registration as the worst ever because of inadequate training of electoral officials and low morale among others.