The governing NDC says President John Mahama’s achievements in the Northern region is unmatched contrary to claims by the NPP that he has failed the North.
Mounting a defence for the party, NDC Regional Secretary Abdul Rauf Khalid said the significant social infrastructure like schools, roads, health facilities were done under the NDC government dating back to President Jerry John Rawling’s administration.
“If not because of NDC there wouldn’t have been any electricity or even TV in this part of the country”, he praised government.
The party was responding to claims by the NPP Vice-Presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that the NDC has failed the people of the region.
At a rally in Tamale, the NPP campaign team, led by Dr. Bawumia said despite the cumulative 16-years in government, the NDC has failed to transform the North.
The running mate of the New Patriotic Party argued that the NDC cannot claim to love northerners when it misappropriates funds meant to alleviate poverty in the north.
But the NDC has challenged him to provide evidence of the NPP’s record of development in the Northern region.
“NPP should tell us for the eight years in governance what they did for the people of the north,” he challenged.
Abdul Rauf said it took the NDC to construct the 147-kilometre Fufulso-Sawla road in the Northern Region after the NPP abandoned it.
“When Kufuor and Anane climbed on a bulldozer apparently in an attempt to construct the Fufulso-Sawla road, the chippings that was dumped there is still there,” he said.
He catalogued roads such as the the Yendi-Saboba-Chereponi and Yendi-Wampuli-Chereponi roads which have been awarded for construction.
“The number of Secondary Schools that have been put up in this part of the country is highly monumental”, he said and referred to a Community Day Senior High School that has also been cited in Wampuli.
It is one of five schools under construction in the region.
He cited the establishment of some CHIPs Compounds in the region to improve health care delivery, the planned second phase of the expansion of the Tamale Teaching Hospital which is underway to back his claims.
For the General Secretary, the latest evidence of the NDC’s love for the region is the airlifting of Muslim pilgrims directly from the Northern region to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj.
In previous years, all Muslims had to travel to the Kotoka International Airport to make the journey.
“The NPP should tell us. What didn’t Muslims go through at the Kotoka International Airport at the Hajj village even when the vice-president at that time was a Muslim” he continued.
“If there is any political party that has the Northern region at heart, then that should be NDC and never NPP” he maintained.
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