Wa Central remains stronghold of NDC but NPP, PPP, PNC and CPP to slug it out
Since the Fourth Republican journey began in 1992, the Wa Central Constituency has remained the stronghold of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the party still hopes to maintain the seat.
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This year, however, Mr Issahaku Moomin-Tahiru Isaac, the parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is hoping to wrest the seat from the incumbent NDC Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Rashid Pelpuo. Others in contention are Mr James Sohimwinye of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Mr Abdulai Sherif Ghali of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Issahaque Sulemanna of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Mr Ali Abdul-Raheem Lobilo, an Independent Candidate who defected from the NDC. The All People’s Congress (APC) party, which will also be participating in the race, is yet to choose its candidate for the constituency.
According to Mr Moomin-Tahiru, hitherto, the Wa Constituency had been the stronghold of the United Party (UP) tradition but that had changed during the era of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) regime under Ft Lt Jerry John Rawlings.
It was during that era that the Upper West Region became a region after being carved out of the then Upper Region with Wa becoming the administrative capital of the region.
“Gradually, the people are retracing their roots to the UP tradition and this is clearly remarkably seen in the electoral results from 1992 to 2012, Mr Moomin-Tahiru stated.
From about 4,000 votes in 1992, the NPP in the Wa Central Constituency has worked hard and gradually increased its strength among the electorate to win their confidence to about 22,000 votes within a period of 20 years,” he stated.
Then, in 2004, two additional constituencies, namely the Wa-East and West, were carved out of Wa Central during the NPP regime under President John Agyekum Kufuor and Dr Pelpuo won the Wa Central seat for the NDC.
The Wa Constituency is a cosmopolitan area with the Walas being the traditional settlers and Dagabaas dominating. Other ethnic groups such as the Frafra, Sissala, Akan, and Ewe form the minority.
The area shares boundary on the east with Wa East, on the western part with Wa West and Nadowli-Kaleo towards the northern part. It has the oldest mosque in the country located at Nakore, which serves as a tourist attraction in the constituency.
NPP assurance
Mr Moomin-Tahiru Isaac, in an interview in Wa, assured the constituents that he would work hard to meet the aspirations of the constituents if voted as the Member of Parliament (MP).
Mr Moomin-Tahiru said his objective was to contribute to harnessing the natural and human resources to promote the interest of the constituents for sustainable development, thus alleviating poverty among the people, especially the youth.
He, therefore, appealed to the electorate to kick out the NDC in the December 7 election.
Arise for Change
Campaigning on the motto of “Arise for Change,” Mr Moomin-Tahiru assured the people that if voted to Parliament, he would restore hope under five thematic areas of job creation, agriculture, education, health and peace and security to improve the lot of the electorate, majority of whom are in abject poverty.
For instance, he gave the strong indication to turn the area, which abounds with enough rain and sunshine, into a food basket. Modern vegetable farming as well as groundnuts and soya beans will be developed and promoted on an all-year basis to create jobs for the women and youth so that they do not even consider migrating to the southern part of the country for greener pastures. “There are no job opportunities for the teeming youth of the area where their very numbers have condemned them into a lifelong poverty,” he said.
For education, he said he hoped to establish an educational development fund for brilliant, needy students with a focus on science to pursue various courses to harness and develop their talents. For health, he said emphasis would not only be laid on infrastructural facilities but also an increase in health personnel. “It is very sad and pathetic that we could not take advantage of all the enhanced skilled talents who hail from the region, including doctors, nurses and teachers to return and serve their people,” he said.
Mr Moomin-Tahiru called on the people to vote for the NPP for a change in their lives during the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections to enhance the growth of the nation.
“As of now, it is time for a positive change since for the past 24 years, no MP has been able to think about their welfare,” he added.
According to Mr Moomin-Tahiru, “Dr Pelpuo is capitalising on the fact that the people like the NDC and so whether he performs or not, they will vote for him.”
MP not inspiring
“Events of his past three terms in office as MP for the area are not very inspiring. Dr Pelpuo’s contributions to the promotion of our culture and education has hit a snag. He has, therefore, outlived his usefulness to make any meaningful impact to strengthen self-confidence and improve the lot of the people in the constituency.”
“I gave Dr Pelpuo a good run for his money except that he managed to escape narrowly by some slim margin due to the strength from the other camps. It has even given me the opportunity to re-organise myself to come back even stronger this year,” he said.
“From all indications so far, the race will be a closely fought one. And with God on my side, I will sweep the polls hands down in the constituency,” Mr Moomin-Tahiru stated confidently in an interview in Wa. He said from his first attempt in 2012 during which he had over 22,500 votes to emerge second after Dr Pelpuo who had about 27,000 votes, the people would not fail him again since the variables had changed drastically since 2012.