The Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region has launched an agenda targeted at getting 50 per cent of votes for their flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in the 2016 presidential election.
"Our decision to set this realistic target for ourselves and the NPP is anchored by the fact that President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC government have proven to be arguably the greatest disappointment to the teeming youth of the region," their spokesperson said.
At a media briefing, the Upper East Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP, Mr Ibrahim Bashiru, said their hopes of living a worthwhile life in the region had been shattered under the presidency of Mr John Mahama who claims to be one of them.
“Is it a case of your own killing you?” he asked, and said it had been seven-and-a half years of continued disappointment, hopelessness, impoverishment, retrogression and discontentment for the Ghanaian youth, especially those in the Upper East Region, where poverty was more glaring.
He said in the run-up to the 2012 general election, President Mahama asked the region to vote for him because he was one of them and better placed to address their plight.
“However, the exact opposite is what we see today,” Mr Bashiru noted, and said it was almost impossible to pinpoint any good policy that the NDC government had implemented towards bettering the lot of the Ghanaian youth.
He said it was regrettable that the so-called social democratic government of the NDC had neither been able to introduce nor successfully implemented any social intervention programme to alleviate their suffering since they assumed the reins of government.
Mr Bashiru indicated that the youth were fed up with President Mahama using his Northern roots to exploit them and said loyalty to a political party or leadership should not be based only on brotherhood as if it were a birthright; rather that loyalty should be earned.
"President Mahama has made education a privilege and not a right, he has collapsed the agric sector and has made health care inaccessible to the poor. Mr President, you have failed to revamp the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, and the Bolgatanga-Bawku road has not been worked on, which is contrary to what you promised", Mr Bashiru said.
He said the people of Garu were yet to see their polyclinic just as the people of Zebilla were waiting for the President to fulfil his promise of building their market and the entire region was waiting to see the new regional hospital being built.
He said it was sad to note that over the six years of the NDC administration, the government had borrowed over $37 billion and yet the Upper East Region could not point to one major project that cost even $27 million.
He said President Mahama had lost touch with the concerns and aspirations of the people and had turned out to be the worst democratically elected leader Ghana had ever had.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have trust in Nana Akufo-Addo because he can be trusted, we have hope in him because he will restore hope and we believe in him because he believes in Ghana,” Mr Bashiru said.
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