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The Northern Regional executives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have, at a crunch meeting, decided to refer the damning allegation made by Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mohammed Ibrahim Murtala, to Regional Council of the party, led by Naa Kosu-lana Yakubu, for the necessary action to be taken.

The fury of the Regional Executives follows the degree of media hype the matter has received. To make matters worse, supporters of both Murtala and Haruna Iddrisu have also engaged in a serious ‘war’ on the various social media platforms.

Murtala Mohammed went “mad” on Tamale-based Diamond FM last week, claiming that some government officials were plotting to unseat him.

He accused the said unnamed Minister and Member of Parliament in Tamale of allegedly hiring a lady to take nude pictures of another Cabinet Minister, and also plotting to sabotage him (Murtala).

He claimed the MP bought a tablet phone for the lady, with the hope of using such information to sabotage the Cabinet Minister.

As at the time of filing this report, the executives were still in the meeting over the issue.

The meeting, being attended by all the functional Executive Committees of the NDC in the Northern Region, according to the Northern Regional Secretary of the party, Lawyer Halid Abdul-Rauf, would also discuss matters affecting the fortunes and development of the NDC in the region.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, Lawyer Abdul-Rauf said the NDC, as party, did not take any immediate action, because they thought it was a personal difference.

Besides this, Murtala did not mention the said MP he claimed was plotting to harm him and a Cabinet minister.

“Even as I speak to you now, we still don’t know which of the two cabinet ministers in Tamale he is referring to, whether Hon Haruna Iddrisu or Hon Inusah Fuseini. We thought trying to pursue the matter would be a wild goose chase. But, considering the volatile nature of the statement he has made, we thought it wise to refer the matter to the sub-structures of the Regional Executive Committee to decide on the matter.”

According to the NDC Regional Secretary: “Even though Hon Murtala has erred, we don’t think this matter will have any effect on the chances of the NDC in 2016, in the sense that these kind of differences between our MPs and Ministers and DCEs have been with us for a very long time, but this particular one has become serious, because of the emergence of social media platforms.”

Mr. Abdul-Rauf attributed the constant scuffles, unwarranted physical and verbal attacks between MPs, Ministers and DCEs of the party to the sheer disregard or disrespect for the regional and constituency party executive structures by those top politicians.

He emphasised that majority of the MPs and Ministers in the region had all formed their own fan clubs and associations, through which they channeled their social and development interventions to their communities, instead of the recognised party structures.

He lamented that those fan club members of the individual politicians were behind all the troubles within the NDC, and promised to use the appropriate channels to disband all of them to ensure peace and the progress of the party in the region.

The NDC Regional Chief Scribe also called for full disciplinary action or sanctions against any member of the NDC from the President, Ministers, MPs, DCEs, regional and constituency executives and foot-soldiers whose actions or behaviour would endanger the fortunes of the party directly or indirectly.

“Nobody is above the law or the constitution of the NDC. So if you are Minister or an MP, it is the party that has made you so, and for that matter, any misconduct, either by statement, an action or by implication, which, we think, will endanger our effort to win the 2016 elections, we will not hesitate to recommend disciplinary actions against such a person.”