A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Oti Region, Nicholas Fato, has urged the national leadership of the party to initiate innovative ways in increasing the party’s membership drive in the region.
“We will have to initiate innovative ways in expanding our membership drive to ensure our electoral fortune in the region which should be of concern to the national leadership of the party,” he reiterated.
According to Mr Fato, even though Oti region had been tagged ‘World Bank’ of NDC, leadership, members and supporters should not be complacent but intensify its membership drive to increase its presidential and parliamentary votes in the region.
“NPP has no parliamentary seats in Oti region but its activities are becoming attractive to the electorate so we have to attach seriousness in increasing our electoral fortunes in the 2024 general election through increasing our membership drive since elections are about numbers.
Mr Fato raised concerns over disqualification of three parliamentary aspirants which could affect the unity, peace and harmony prevailing in the party and urged the vetting committee to rescind its decision.
Speaking in an interview at Dapaah in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region, Mr Fato, who was a member of the regional executive of the NDC in the Volta Region for 14 years, said the situation where 35 candidates went through successful vetting to compete for only eight parliamentary seats while three others were disqualified was not good enough for the party.
“Kenneth Gyimah Bagyisan and Michael Nyamah from the Krachi-West Constituency as well as Godwin Dunkwa in the Buem Constituency should not have been disqualified by the vetting committee but should have been allowed to contest the primaries.
“NPP in the last general election, garnered about 104,000 votes while the NDC polled about 270,000 votes in the region and disqualification of candidates willing to contest in internal and national elections in the past mostly led to disunity, wrangling and bickering within the party instead of harmonising us.
“Genuine disqualification of candidates experienced in the past, posed no challenge to the party but when such disqualifications, are done to favour incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs), it causes more harm than good because aggrieved persons normally took the party to court and their followers become disgruntled,” Mr Fato cautioned.
He called on both regional and national executives to take the necessary steps to resolve any controversy likely to emanate from the just-ended vetting of the party since politics was about numbers saying“gradually, NPP is increasing membership drive at a fast pace as against NDC which can erode the “World Bank’’ tag of the NDC in both Oti and Volta regions.
Mr Fato noted that since the region was carved out of the Volta Region, the NPP was establishing itself, and becoming a dominant party, which should be of concern to the NDC to also adopt strategies to increase its membership drive.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, DAPAAH
