A leading member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Awal Mohammed, has defected to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) barely 62 days to the general election.
Until the announcement of his defection yesterday, Awal was the National Communications Director of the NDC’s Zongo Caucus and former President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the University College of Education, Winneba (UCEW).
At a press conference held at the NPP’s Kokomlemle office yesterday, he declared, “I am, in humility and sincerity, Awal Mohammed, Communications Director for NDC Zongo Caucus, an official wing of the party, that is the NDC in Zongo communities and also a senior member of the Communications team in the Ashanti Region, resolve today that I have defected to the NPP.”
Reason
According to him, his decision to join the NPP was based on principles and convictions.
He recalled that sometime on January 30, 2016, the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressed a Nasara conference of the NPP in the Asawase constituency where he (Awal) lives.
After the said event, he indicated that Nana promised the establishment of a Zongo Development Fund when voted into power.
Pain
But, according to Awal, since they in the NDC did not believe him (Nana Addo), he and his other colleagues in the Zongo Caucus held a press conference which was addressed by himself in which they did not only ridicule, but also bastardized the policy.
“And we further told the people of the Zongos and the people of this country that the NDC has better policies geared towards the development of the Zongos than the NPP so they should disregard that statement from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he revealed.
Disappointment
What however, baffled him was that “When the NDC launched its manifesto some weeks ago, I read through all the 88-page document and to my utmost dismay and disappointment, there is no single policy that is geared towards the Zongo community.”
Meanwhile, he said, “It is an open secret that we have over 50 percent of the votes that the NDC gets in any elections from Zongo; so I think we’ve been given a raw deal.”
Decision
In that regard, Awal concluded, “I think that the best thing to do and the honourable thing to do is to move round, tell people I had earlier told that the NPP does not have any message for the people of this country that indeed, somebody who says ‘I have a dedicated fund to help,’ has moved ahead from the lip service that Zongo is deprived; he says ‘I will establish a fund so that the deprivation of the Zongos will be uplifted.’ That is generally the reason I’m defecting.”
As a former SRC president and a teacher currently, he revealed, “For the past five years, those I completed school with and those who completed before me are still unemployed; we still have deficits in our classrooms; we don’t have teachers. So if you look at the soaring unemployment situation in this country, it is something that we all know.”
Conviction
It was for this reason he said, “I believe that the best thing to do as a youth who lives in the Zongo is that, I have to try as much as possible to tell the good people of Ghana and the good people of the Zongos that we have to rally round Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Dr Bawumia, so that they will be able to address the challenges of this country.”
Charge
“So I entreat all and sundry to join hands so that we make sure Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is elected come December 7, 2016,” was his message to Ghanaians.
Present at the event was NPP Campaign Manager, Peter Mac-Manu; Council member; National Youth Organiser, Sammy Awuku; Nasara Coordinator, Kamal Deen; Communications team member, Nana Boakye; Deputy Youth Organiser, Salam Mustapha; former National Youth Organiser, Emmanuel Attafuah and a host of other members of the NPP Communications team. They all welcomed Awal to their fold [‘elephant family’].
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