Don’t impose Muntaka on us – Agitated Asawase youth
Some agitated youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Asawase in the Ashanti region, are accusing party executives of attempting to impose the incumbent MP on them.
The youth say they are not under any obligation to nominate Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, as the race for the party’s primaries heats up.
The group calling itself concerned Youth of Asawase says chaos will erupt in the party if national executives do not intervene.
Convener of the group, Fatiu Salihu, said they had to fall on the police for protection to be able to pick nomination forms for an aspirant, Masawudu Mubarak.
According to them, party leaders frustrated all attempts to pick a form to contest the incumbent MP adding, they had to visit the party’s regional office twice before they secured forms.
Mr Salihu alleges that a Facebook post by the regional secretary, Kwame Zu, listed candidates which excluded their aspirant Masawudu Mubarak.
“They knew there could be this kind of intimidation at this constituency level so we planned that if it happens we have to go them to seek a redress at the regional level.
“We were so amazed that they were doing worse as the regional executives were doing worse than the constituency executives. Little did we know that it was a plot by some regional executives who had promised Mr Muntaka [incumbent] they will not allow anyone to contest him,” he alleged.
He wants party leaders at the national level to find solutions to the problem to protect the NDC’s image before the general elections in 2020.
Mr Salihu said such disagreements at the regional level could be blamed for the mayhem that occurred at the Ashanti regional office leading to the death of one person.
“Wherever there is disunity anything is capable of happening so the leaders should step in and avert further chaos,” he pleaded.
The former Sports minister worked as a teacher before he later went into politics.
Mr Mubarak first became an MP in 2005 when he won a by-election in the Asawase constituency replacing the late Dr Adamu Gibrine also of the NDC who had won the seat in December 2004.
He subsequently retained his seat in December 2008 and also won the next election in 2012.