Kpembewura declares support for NDC in 2008

The Chief of the Kpembe Traditional Area Kpembewura Kabasiki, has unconditionally assured Ghana's largest opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), that he and his elders are solidly behind the party.

He said the party would receive their backing in its quest to win back power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), come the 2008 general elections.

The chief, a former Northern Regional Minister under Limann's regime, speaking through an interpreter, in Hausa, said, “Mu naa baayanku” (meaning; my elders and I are solidly behind you).

Kpembewura declared his stand when some NDC party officials called on him at his palace in Kpembe on July 22, this year.

Notwithstanding the provisions made by the 1992 Constitution that makes all chiefs nonfunctional members of any political party, the Kpembewura who has on several occasions denied media and public allegations that he had been campaigning for the NDC, particularly in the 2000 and 2004 general elections.

The intention of their visit to the palace, led by the former General Secretary of the NDC, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya and former Northern Regional Minister, Mr. Gilbert Iddi, was to inform him of a defection ceremony they had held in his area for some members of the NPP who had allegedly defected to the NDC camp in Salaga, Northern Region.”

He noted that, during the reign of the NDC, his traditional area enjoyed total peace with bright sunshine of joy until the NPP under the leadership of H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor came and cast a dark cloud of economic hardships on his people.

As a result of this, he asserted, parents could no longer take care of their children's education, health needs and other important needs to sustain the family lifecycle.

The Kpembewura, however blamed, the NDC for losing the Salaga seat, which he said had always been an NDC seat, to the NPP.

Deeming the economic hardship facing the people as the result of their own mistakes, the chief emphasized that, it was very wrong for majority of the NDC in the Salaga Constituency to have rallied behind an Independent Parliamentary Candidate in 2000 and the same good number defecting to the NPP to still offer their strong support to the same candidate, to win the seat which was traditionally known to belong to the NDC.

He, therefore, advised the NDC supporters and sympathizers to keep their thoughts to themselves till the 2008 general elections, when they would be given the opportunity to exercise their franchise to change the face of Kpembe.

The Kpembewura entreated the NDC leadership also to go back with the assurance that the chiefs and people under his jurisdiction were firmly behind them, adding, “With the Kpembewura behind you, there is no way you should be afraid.”

When contacted on his cell phone, the Kpebewura denied ever receiving any officials and supporters from the NDC camp at his palace. This was after videotape on the NDC's visit to his palace has been viewed and the Chronicle had heard statements he had made.

When The Chronicle persisted on getting his side of the comment, to authenticate the story, the Chief flared up and banged the phone.

“Nonsense!” he had remarked.

Several attempts by this paper to get him back on line to comment, proved futile, as he kept cutting the calls and eventually switched off his phone.

However, some citizens of Kpembe who spoke their minds on the issue to The Chronicle described the chief's “wanton behaviour” as a threat to the peace in the area.

Some of them therefore appealed to the Yagbon-Wura to prevail upon the Kpembewura to play by the tenets of the kingship of the area to ensure peace and development.