President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is scheduled to begin a three-day tour of the Upper West Region beginning on Sunday.
However, even before the president touches down in the region, there is a turf war between the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih and governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Regional Executive Committee.
The members of the committee have threatened to boycott all activities of an impending visit of the president to the region.
According to the committee, the boycott is in protest against a decision by the Regional Minister to exclude them from the planning of the president’s visit.
Information from the Upper Regional Coordinating Council and the Regional Secretariat of the NPP confirm that the president is scheduled to begin the three-day visit to the region starting on August 22.
The visit is to commission some completed government projects and inspect ongoing ones, as well as interact with chiefs and people of the region.
But the NPP Regional Executives Committee said it will not have anything to do with the president’s visit due to the conduct of the regional minister.
The committee, which includes all the regional executives and constituency chairmen of the NPP, converged at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon to drum home their concerns.
Dr. Dauda Tanko, the Regional Secretary of the party accused Dr. Bin Salih of putting the organisation of the tour of the region under his armpit under the pretext that the visit is official and non-political.
“The Minister in his usual hide and seek behaviour, he has refused to involve the party in the planning and organization of the event. In an attempt to meet the Minister of information concerning his Excellency’s visit so that we can make input, the Regional Executive’s meeting was convened, the Minister in his usual clandestine way refused to attend the meeting”, he stated.
According to Dr. Dauda, having refused to attend the meeting, the Regional Minister is alleged to be using some former Regional and Constituency Executives of the party to execute his agenda.
They have therefore urged supporters of the party to stay away from the visit of the President to the region.
“The Regional Executive Committee of the NPP has decided that since the Regional Minister said it is not political and all his actions shows same, party members are advised to stay away to allow the Minister and his officials to carry out their official visit”, they concluded.
Meanwhile, the Regional Minister has rejected the claims by the Regional Executive Committee.
Dr. Bin Salih has described as surprising, the accusation leveled against him by Regional Executives that he has failed to include them in the organization of the visit of President Akufo-Addo to the region.
He said he has never turned his back on the party executives as on daily basis he briefed the Regional Chairman, First Vice and the Regional Secretary of the party on every move made regarding the President’s visit.
