Party Elders of the New Patriotic Party in the Bawku Central Constituency in the Upper East Region
Party Elders and Opinion Leaders of the New Patriotic Party in the Bawku Central Constituency in the Upper East Region, have sent a strong caution to the Constituency Chairman, Yussif Salifu to desist from any attempt to impose a nominee of his choice, as the Municipal Chief Executive.
According to the Party Elders, they have received some information that suggest that, there is a delibrate manipulation by some members of the Party in the Constituency, in favour of one of the three persons vying for the position of the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, in the person of Ustarz Umar.
The Party Elders accused their Constituency Chairman, Yussif Salifu of taking a selfish decision to get Ustarz Umar to become the Municipal Chief Executive for reasons best known to him, adding that, the Constituency Chairman has suddenly got the courage to sideline the Party Elders and disrespect other important stakeholders in the selection of a Nominee for the MCE Position because, he is resting on the shoulders of Alhaji Sule Yirimea, a member of the Council of State, a respected member of the NPP and hails from the Bawku Central Constituency.
The angry looking Party Elders and Opinion Leaders with the support of the Party Youth, raised these concerns in a four page Statement, signed by 18 Party Elders at a Press Conference in Bawku.
In their view, the announment of Ustarz Umar as the MCE Nominee for Bawku, without any broad consultation of Party Elders and other important stakeholders, is a direct insult to them and a departure from the old convention of consulting Party Elders and Opinion Leaders in the Constituency before settling on a nominee for the position of a Municipal Chief Executive for Bawku.
“After having been fortunate to win power, what the rank and file of the Party expected was a broader consultation among stakeholders to determine the direction, in respect of appointments, which unfortunately didn’t happen as has been the case with the previous governments.
Also after conducting the final interviews of the candidates for the position of the Municipal Chief executive, information reaching us indicate that there are some manipulations in favour of one particular candidate in the person of Ustarz Umar.
This our firm believe is grounded on a meeting that was held on the April 12, 2017 by the Constituency Chairman, Yussif Salifu with Polling Station Executives and Electoral Area Coordinators, where he said, “In consultation with some Party Elders, the President has nominated one of the candidates as his choice for the position of the MCE” he went further to say, “we have no choice than to accept him”.
According to the Party Elders, the Constituency Chairman has not consulted any Party Elder and therefore issuing a threat at that meeting that, anyone who raises objection or demonstrates against the nominee, will be arrested, is what annoys them and the youth of the Party. “This we think is uncalled for and should be condemned in no uncertain terms. If this “unilateral” position of the Chairman, on the decision of who becomes the Municipal Chief Executive, is allowed to stand,then the Party stands to see many divisions and unpatchable cracks.”
The Party Elders have called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Regional and National Executives of the NPP, to ignore the unilateral and self-seeking decision by Chairman Yussif Salifu in the best interest of the Party and also preventing any disturbance in the area over the nominee.
They claim Ustarz Umar’s loyalty has always been in doubt and that is the reason why he stood far away from the NPP during the campaigns in Bawku.