The National Youth Coordinator of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Ras Mubarak, has discarded his earlier plans to enter parliament through the Ablekuma North Constituency, an area within the Greater Accra Region, on the ticket of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), after his first attempt on the seat failed.
The ex-Rastafarian is on his way to his roots, Kumbungu in the Northern Region, to try his long cherished ambition to go to Ghana’s August House, after he was defeated by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP), Joe Appiah, in the 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections.
In that keenly contested election, the NDC’s fire brand, polled 34,534 for the NDC, while Mr. Appiah, bagged 53,115 from 163 voting centres to retain the seat for the opposition NPP, which has won that seat over the past 16 years.
Interesting enough, Mr. Appiah, whose popularity after the 2012 elections diminished so fast, has been ousted by an unknown activist of the party, Nana Akua Owusu-Afriyie, during its primaries on June 13.
For some unknown reasons too, Ras, who gave the incumbent, a good run for his money, has abandoned the idea of trying his luck in the Constituency for the second time.
On his social media wall, Ras has announced his intention to contest the Kumbungu seat which used to be held by the NDC, until it was snatched from them by the Convention People Party (CPP) during a by-election last year after the NDC’s Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, resigned to accept an appointment as the Secretary General of the African Carribean and Pacific group (ACP).
Last year, Alhaji Mumuni, allayed fears of his opponents that, he may contest for the seat in the next general elections.
And this perhaps gave him the green light to look in the way of Kumbungu, as he indicated on his Facebook wall, “My intention is to bring the whole NDC family in Kumbungu together.
We are stronger together and weaker apart. We will win back the parliamentary seat, but we must work together. Kumbungu deserves better”.
In 2013, the young politician, announced his decision to quit front line politics to the shock of many after he dramatically lost the Ablekuma North Constituency.
On the same platform, Facebook, where he has splashed his recent posters for the NDC’s October primaries, Ras Mubarak said “Leaving front-line politics. Spending more time with family and focusing on academics.
Always been my dream to be a University Lecturer. This is the time to build myself up for that”. But after The Herald made a publication of his intention, he quickly jumped from one media house to the other disputing what he wrote.
At the time, it was speculated that, he wanted to quit politics because he was peeved president John Mahama sidelined during his appointment.
He was alleged to have been earmarked for the Deputy Information and Media Relations Ministry, which then handed over to Felix Kwakye Ofosu and Member of Parliament (MP) for Nanton Constituency, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed as Deputy Ministers.
Following that publication, he was appointed to head his current position.
It believed that unlike the fate he suffered in the Ablekuma North Constituency where the NPP has dominated since its creation, if he is able to seal through during the coming primaries, it is likely that he will become a legislator considering the popularity of the NDC in that area in the north.
<<Print>>