A level 300 Social Change Communications Student at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Alhaji Baba Alhassan, has picked his nomination forms to contest the Tamale South New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries.
About twenty (20) NPP polling station executives on behalf of the former NPP Tamale South Communications Director submitted a bankers draft to the constituency elections committee on Thursday, July 13, as stipulated by the party’s guidelines before picking up the forms.
Alhaji Baba Alhassan declared his intentions to unseat the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for the area and former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.
He believes the party requires a character of his caliber to be able to unseat Mr. Iddrisu who won the seat in 2004 from the NPP’s Mustapha Ali Idris.
Speaking in an interview, Baba Alhassan told THE CUSTODIAN that juxtaposing the long stay of Haruna on the seat, the NDC MP in his view has done little to ameliorate the impoverishment of the people.
“The main reason why I am coming to contest this seat is that, I want to set a milestone in the constituency, I want to give new definition to the good people of Tamale South; that is the more reason why I am coming” he said.
According to him, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu won the seat based on the Dagbon chieftaincy impasse but expressed satisfaction that the matter has been resolved amicably and permanently.
He intimated the constituents need energetic, vibrant and serious-minded people to take over the mantle to mitigate the development gaps in the constituency.
“…We need serious-minded people to set records in the constituency for the next generations to follow, and so I think Tamale South is now beyond chieftaincy politics” he emphasized.
The NPP aspirant indicated the people deserve access to quality healthcare, education and youth empowerment, which he added is his motivation to contest the elections.
Meanwhile, the NPP opened nominations on Tuesday, July 11, in constituencies where the party has no sitting Members of Parliament also known as orphan constituencies.
The Tamale South is among nine orphan constituencies in the northern region the party has advertised for prospective candidates to contest to lead the party in the 2024 general elections.
Several other individuals have picked up their nomination forms across the nine constituencies in the region. The orphan constituencies are Tamale South, Tamale North, Tamale Central and Sagnarigu.
The others include Saboba, Wulensi, Savelugu, and Kpandai.
