The 2024 Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, has now taken a giant move to smock the peace pipe with the Member of Parliament for Tamale South constituency, Haruna Iddrisu.
There has been a long held public court of opinion in the northern region that all was not well between the former Minority Leader and the former President. This resulted in a sharp division between the support based of Mr. Mahama and Haruna Iddrisu particularly in the northern region.
Coincidentally, the sequence of events of the past has made the people to strongly hold the view that there was fracas between the two stalwarts.
It would be recalled John Mahama in setting up his government after winning the 2012 Presidential elections left out Haruna Iddrisu until NDC supporters in the northern region fiercely agitated and caused chaos by burning party properties on the principal streets of Tamale before he [Haruna Iddrisu] was offered a Ministerial appointment to serve in the Mahama administration.
Again, the unpopular reshuffling of the Minority frontbench in Parliament by the Aseidu Nketiah led National Executives earlier this year which was touted by many political commentators as a coup d’état further intensified the bitterness in the party.
But, some “Mahama Boys” in the region have also accused the Tamale South legislator of sabotaging the Presidential ambitions of Mr. Mahama who is seeking to be reelected once again to serve his second term of office after failing in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
Candidate Mahama in his campaign tour of the region prior to the NDC’s primaries last May said he belong to no faction in the region and that Haruna Iddrisu was his young brother and urged the party faithful to resolve their differences in the area.
Nonetheless, the NDC leader is now taking the bull by the horns with a historic visit to the private residence of the Tamale South MP over the weekend as part of his tour of the Northern and Savannah Regions.
John Mahama is captured in a video which has since gone viral driving into the home of Haruna Iddrisu in the company of former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah among other bigwigs of the NDC.
Sources have told THE CUSTODIAN that the meeting was held to discuss among other things peace and unity and how to gather momentum within the rank and file of the NDC in the region for victory in 2024.
Mr. Mahama had earlier visited some traditional leaders including the paramount Chief of Tolon, Naa Yab’ Tolon Naa Major (Rtd) Sulemana Abubakari at his palace.
Meanwhile, John Dramani Mahama as the Presidential Candidate of the NDC has lost in excess of over 200,000 votes since he first appeared on the ballot paper in 2012. Similarly, the party under his leadership has also lost significant number of parliamentary seats including traditional seats such Karaga and Mion.
Therefore, the Northern Region is an important electoral college for the NDC to recapture if John Mahama will win the 2024 general elections.
