Race for Tamale Central NPP Parliamentary primary heats up

The race for the Tamale Central Constituency parliamentary seat is getting hotter day after day as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) gear up to select candidates to contest on the ticket of their respective parties in the 2020 general election.

The latest development in the constituency located in the heart of the Tamale metropolis is the decision by one NPP activist, Mr Abass Zakaria to contest the party’s 2016 parliamentary candidate for Tamale Central, Dr Anyars Ibrahim, now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) in the upcoming parliamentary primary of the party.

Mr Abass, who says he has been with the NPP since 1992 and, therefore, is qualified to contest for any position in the party, is gearing up to face off with Dr Anyars, said to be the leading contender in the race.

However, Mr Abass’ decision to contest the party’s parliamentary primary has been greeted with rumours that he has been paid to step down for Dr Anyars to go unopposed.

Falsehood

But, Mr Abass, in an interview, has denied the rumours, saying they are false and a calculated attempt to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.

Mr Abass said same lies were peddled about him during the 2016 election which he kept quiet over just for the sake of peace and vowed not to keep mute this time round, but will go any length with anybody who would try to tarnish his image.

He noted that he was ever ready to fight anyone who would ask him to step down from the contest.

“What I want to say is that, they should desist from peddling lies that I was being given money or paid to step down for Dr Anyars,” he noted.

“I have not been called by any party hierarchy who says let’s sit and allow your brother to go for a second time, so they should stop peddling those lies,” he added.

He said he would never engage in politics of insults but rather sell his ideologies to the people who had the power to give him the mandate.

Mr Abass promised to help bring total liberation to the masses at the constituency and national levels.

Background

Dr Anyars was the Tamale Central parliamentary candidate for the NPP in the 2016 general election but lost to the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Mr Inusah Fuseini.

Mr Fuseini polled 38,531 votes in the 2016 election to beat his closest contender, Dr Anyars of the NPP who polled 25,230 votes.

In that election, the NPP claimed the results were padded in favour of the NDC, saying 12 polling stations in the Tamale Central constituency were compromised.

The NPP cited over voting in those polling stations which they claimed tilted the results in favour of the incumbent parliamentarian.

With Mr Inusah Fuseini’s decision not to contest the 2020 election, some political pundits believe that the NPP has a chance to snatch the Tamale Central parliamentary seat from the NDC if the latter failed to put forward a stronger candidate to replace Mr Inusah.