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An aspiring parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in the Sissala East constituency, Hajia Jamilatu Ibrahim, has pledged to halt the ruling party’s declining fortunes in the constituency when elected as the party’s 2016 parliamentary candidate.

According to the eloquent and smart looking damsel, results from the 2012 parliamentary election puts the NDC’s grip on the parliamentary seat under threat, adding that in order to avoid losing the seat to the New Patriotic Party or the Peoples National Convention, delegates of the party must elect what she described as “a development oriented neutral candidate.”

In an exclusive interview with The aL-hAJJ, Hajia Jamilatu Ibrahim stated “if you analyze the parliamentary votes of the NDC in Sissala East, you would realize that our votes have been declining…and the main reason for this is the division in the party.”

Describing herself as the “unifier”, Hajia Jamilatu added that “My interaction with the constituency executives and NDC members in Sissala East shows that the constituency is divided along three lines. The incumbent MP, the former MP and the District Chief Executive all having their camps”

Hajia Jamilatu Ibrahim will battle with the incumbent MP, Alijata Sulemema who won the seat in the 2012 election with a difference of 2384 votes, and three other candidates, including the DCE for the area, Johnson Sabor.

She explained that infighting among party functionaries in the constituency is not breeding the needed synergy required to retain the seat for the NDC and maximize the presidential votes to achieve President John Dramani Mahama’s envisaged one touch victory in the 2016 elections.

“I’m a principled person, when I started consulting people in the constituency that I want to contest, if I had noticed that the incumbent MP would retain the seat for the NDC, I wouldn’t have opted to contest, but the cracks in Sissala East is very deep that if I don’t come on board to unite the party, the NDC would lose that seat in 2016,” Hajia Jamilatu noted.

She revealed that all the factions in the constituency have fielded candidates to contest the November 7 primaries, saying “aside the MP, Sulemana Alijata who is also leading one faction, the former MP has also fielded a candidate whiles the DCE, who also has his own people is also contesting and there is another candidate who also has his own people…so as the case stands now if any of them is elected, it will be very difficult to unite the party to retain the seat.”

The parliamentary candidate aspirant quizzed “do you think if there is unity in the party the DCE would have contested or the former MP would be supporting someone to challenge the MP?”

She said, aside the lack of unity that is threatening the NDC’s control of the seat in 2016, the constituency is also lagging behind “when it comes to development…there are a lot of potentials in Sissala East that needed to be harnessed but over the years those in charge have not done that.”

“Many of the Kayayei you see in Accra come from Sissala East. Do you think if there is something back home for them to do, they will travel to Accra to risk their lives? I am coming to solve some of these ills in the constituency. Our people need better and responsible representation in parliament,” Hajia Jamilatu declared.