Tamale Central NDC primaries gets keener
The contest for the Tamale Central constituency parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has become keener and interesting following the decision by the immediate past Deputy Director of the Ghana Road Fund (GRF), Alhaji Ibrahim Seidu, to challenge his boss, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, in the primaries.
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Alhaji Seidu, a Russian and England-trained engineer and now a Director at the Department of Feeder Roads, told journalists in Tamale when he picked his nomination forms, that his decision to contest his boss, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central in the primaries was taken as far back as 2013 before he (Alhaji Fuseini) became the sector minister.
According to Alhaji Seidu, his decision to contest the three-time MP for Tamale Central would not generate into any bad blood between him and his boss. The Tamale South Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Mr Abu Hafiz, said that Alhaji Seidu was the first to file his nomination and was awaiting vetting.
This would be the fourth time that Alhaji Fuseini is seeking to retain his candidature and represent the people of Tamale Central in Parliament.
The Tamale Central Constituency, according to some local politicians and opinion leaders, would be one of the keenly contested as far as the NDC parliamentary primaries is concerned.
Alleged Machinations
Before Alhaji Seidu filed his nomination, there were allegations of moves to frustrate him and prevent him from doing so as some branch executives of the party who are said to be in the camp of his ‘rival’, Alhaji Fuseini, were not willing to endorse his nomination. It is alleged that their voter identity cards (ID cards) had been taken away from them by some constituency executive members.
Notwithstanding these, Alhaji Seidu finally picked his nomination forms and rode through some of the principal streets in the Tamale Metropolis as his supporters jubilated. If the cheering crowd can be trusted, then the contest would be a tough one for the incumbent MP, Alhaji Fuseini, who wishes to be retained.
Appeal
Later in an interview with journalists at the constituency office, Alhaji Seidu appealed to the constituency executives to create a level playing field for all aspirants to take part in the race so that at the end of the day, the letter candidate would be elected to contest on the ticket of the NDC for Tamale Central in the 2016 elections.
Alhaji Seidu also said he had heard the rumours of moves to prevent branch executives from endorsing his nomination forms, which was one of the prerequisites for the filing of nominations. He therefore appealed to the constituency executives to be fair and transparent in their dealings with all the aspirants.
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He indicated that he was only responding to a call by the youth and opinion leaders to join the race as he is an embodiment of the hope and aspirations of the people in the constituency.
Alhaji Seidu said he was confident that he was going to beat his boss, Alhaji Fuseini, in the primaries and hopefully represent the people of Tamale Central in the next parliament.
Other aspirants in the race
So far, two other contestants, Alhassan Adam and Ziblim Saaka, have also picked nominations forms but are yet to file to be part of the contest.
Alhaji Fuseini
Alhaji Fuseini donated some computers to the Local Government Training School in Tamale at the weekend and when Daily Graphic spoke to him, he confirmed that he had already filed his nomination.
He added that he preferred to do that in a quiet manner but indicated that he would be retained because of his good work in the constituency.