The serene North Eastern regional towns of Walewale and Nalerigu were set agog on Monday when Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia visited for the first time since his election as flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Dr. Bawumia, who was elected flagbearer of the NPP early on this month, is in the North for what can be described as a special homecoming visit, to express gratitude to the people, including traditional rulers, for their support and prayers.
In line with tradition, Dr. Bawumia started his visits by going to his home region, the North East Region, where he called on the Nayiri (Overlord of Mamprugu) Naa Abdulai Mahami Sheriga.
Before he arrived at the Palace of the Nayiri in Nalerigu where a mammoth crowd welcomed him, the new NPP flagbearer and his entourage drove through Walewale, his hometown, where scores of people emerged from all corners to catch a glimpse of their son.
Dr. Bawumia, who was seated in a bus, alongside a number of MPs and party executives, had to leave the bus, to be in an open-top vehicle, to be able to respond to the cheers from the enthusiastic crowd.
The cheering crowd, made up of the young and old, lined up on the main Walewale – Bolga highway to give the Vice President a befitting reception, as he passed through to Nalerigu.
The reception was even more tumultuous when the entourage arrived in Nalerigu. From Langbinsi through Gambaga to Nalerigu itself, crowds lined up the streets to cheer on the Vice President.
In Nalerigu, Dr. Bawumia held discussions with the Nayiri and his elders, before he addressed the charged crowd waiting for him outside.
Dr. Bawumia said the 2024 election will be about the track record of himself as Vice President and John Mahama as a former President.
While listing policies he recommended as Vice President, which he said are having positive impacts on the nation, he asked the crowd whether they remember any policy former President Mahama introduced as President.