Ahead Of NDC Primaries: Mafia Tactics In Tamale Central

The primary to elect a candidate to represent the people of Tamale Central on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) promises to be hotly contested as some �mafia� tactics are being deployed by one of the candidates to win the slot. The propaganda machinery is set to target one of the contenders, Engineer Ibrahim Seidu and make him a subject of people ridicule, but per information gathered by this paper, that ploy has backfired as the constituents seem to have read in between the lines. A propaganda induced story was thrown into the media early this week suggesting that Engineer Seidu was unable to secure the required signatories to endorse his forms which turned out to be a fallacy. As at press time last night, most of the NDC youth in the constituency who are sympathetic to the Russian and England-trained Engineer were warming up for a possible showdown today with supporters of the incumbent MP, Inusah Fuseini who they accuse of being behind the vile propaganda. �We have tried Hon. Fuseini and he has failed us so he should give way peacefully for Engineer to come�, some of the youth told this paper. Before Alhaji Seidu filed his nomination, there were allegations of moves to frustrate him and prevent him from doing so as some branch executives of the party who are said to be in the camp of his �rival�, Alhaji Fuseini, were not willing to endorse his nomination. It is alleged that their voter identity cards (ID cards) had been taken away from them by some constituency executive members. Notwithstanding these, Alhaji Seidu finally picked his nomination forms and rode through some of the principal streets in the Tamale Metropolis as his supporters jubilated. If the cheering crowd could be trusted, then the contest would be a tough one for the incumbent MP, Alhaji Fuseini, who wishes to be retained. Later in an interview with journalists at the constituency office, AlhajiSeidu appealed to the constituency executives to create a level playing field for all aspirants to take part in the race so that at the end of the day, the better candidate would be elected to contest on the ticket of the NDC for Tamale Central in the 2016 elections. Alhaji Seidu also said he had heard the rumours of moves to prevent branch executives from endorsing his nomination forms, which was one of the prerequisites for the filing of nominations. He therefore appealed to the constituency executives to be fair and transparent in their dealings with all the aspirants. The incumbent MP, Inusah Fuseini and two other contestants, Alhassan Adam and Ziblim Saaka, have also picked nominations.