Jalil hopes to unseat Mustapha Ahmed at Ayawaso North
He set up the Ultimate Business College (UBC) to provide education to the needy in the constituency and has over the years provided an avenue for young people to acquire vocational skills.
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To residents of Maamobi, he is a philanthropist to whom both the young and old could easily fall on for assistance and therefore represents a new hope for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ayawaso North constituency.
Mr Abdul Jalil Abdul Raman, who is contesting Saturday’s primaries on the ticket of the NDC is seeking to defeat incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Dr Mustapha Ahmed and four other contenders.
Dr Ahmed, who doubles as the Minister of Youth ad Sports is contesting the seat for the fifth term having served previously as Member of Parliament for Ayawaso East for three terms.
Mr Abdul-Raman, a chartered accountant by profession has campaigned on five thematic areas : education, medicine for the aged, a vocation for all programme, reintroduction of communal labour concept to eradicate sanitation challenges as well as the formation of a football club to unearth talents among young people interested in pursuing professional football as a career.
With his school, the UBC already providing education in Diploma in Business Studies (DBS Accounting option), West African Certificate Examination (WASSCE) remedial, as well as an Adult Education programme, Mr Abdul Raman is appealing to the delegates in the constituency to give him the mandate to accelerate development in the community.
The UBC presently accommodates the Kotobabi No 13 Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Junior High School (JSH), thus paving way for major rehabilitation works on the school’s permanent classroom block.
Delegates
Some 4,400 delegates are expected to vote on Saturday and having secured the number one position on the ballot, Mr Abdul Raman, who has promised to establish a community bank in the constituency to provide a small loans scheme for residents who are mostly traders, remains hopeful of victory.
The constituency, described as a safe seat for the NDC in the Greater Accra Region has seen the incumbent, Dr Ahmed performed creditably at the national polls since 2000 by polling some 29,579 votes to win narrowly over the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Mr Kofi Wayo, who polled some 29,025 votes.
In 2004 however, Dr Ahmed extended the margin over his main opponent and bagged a total vote of 49,354 votes which represented 56.1 per cent of the total ballot.
Dr Ahmed in 2008 polled 44, 655 votes against the NPP’s Mohammed Salisu Baba’s 26,020 to consolidate his weight in the constituency.
Following the creation of new constituencies in 2012, Ayawaso North was created from Ayawaso East, and Dr Ahmed again polled some 24,477 votes over the NPP”s Alhaji Yusif Ahmed who managed 16, 281.
But to Mr Abdul Raman, education, health and sanitation have not received the needed attention from the retired military doctor.
“We cannot live in a constituency and only get the opportunity to meet or see our MP only when parliamentary and national elections are to be held”, he argues.
“An MP is expected to be accessible to the people, join them for communal labour as a way of eradicating insanitary conditions in the constituency among others”, he added.
NDC Youth Network
To members of the NDC Youth Network in the constituency, the incumbent has served the people for 16 years and deserved to bow out for others to also garner the needed experience in the legislative assembly.
According to an executive member of the group, who also doubles as the Communications Officer of the Charity Branch in the constituency, Mr Mahama Abdul Karim, Mr Abdul Raman represents a new hope for the constituency.
“His track record in the area of provision of education and health for residents are there for all to see. He has offered scholarships to many underprivileged young people in the constituency, and we believe this is what changing lives should be about”, Mr Karim told the Graphic Online.
To Mr Karim, Dr Ahmed has not been accessible to his constituents and does not deserve to serve for two decades.
A delegate, Mr Simon Yaovi Appoh, also describes Mr Abdul Raman as a self-motivated and goal oriented individual who deserves to be pushed to represent residents.
The aspirant who also has plans to lobby for the creation of an Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) sub metro in the constituency, is banking his hopes on delegates to emerge victorious on Saturday.
Writer’s email: [email protected]
