By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Tamale, Oct 18, GNA – Alhaji Ahmed Rufai Vellim, a candidate to the Northern Regional Chairmanship position of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has promised to make the party an election winning machine to win back the region and restore it as a stronghold of the party.
He has also promised to make the NDC “A party that creates opportunities for all. A party that truly recognises and rewards hard work and loyalty. A party that motivates the rank and file to be part of the building process.”
He was speaking to the press in Tamale shortly after being vetted and cleared to stand as a candidate for the Northern Regional Chairmanship position of the NDC.
The elections for the Regional Executives of the NDC will be held later this year.
The NDC has over the years enjoyed tremendous support in the Northern Region.
However, the results of the last election in the region were a concern to the party as it won nine Parliamentary seats out of 18 seats, and managed 52 per cent of the presidential votes, the lowest since 1992.
Alhaji Vellim, who is currently a Northern Regional Vice Chairman of the NDC, is not enthused about the situation, telling party members that “It is my vision to strategically reposition the party together with you to break the barriers and win back the lost glory and make Northern Region the stronghold of NDC that it should be.”
He spoke about putting the youth at the centre of his vision to recapture power in the 2024 general election, saying “I envision putting in place a robust and a marshall plan of action that will summon a new spirit of hope, liberate their potential for the good of the party.”
He added that “We shall organise a youth summit to include every faction of the youth group to build a united youth under the leadership of the Regional Youth Organiser. A united youth is a defeat to factionalism, and I do not intend to relent on this noble objective as it is at the heart of my determination to break the barriers to win back the lost glory.”
He touched on his plans for the women’s wing of the party, promising to ensure that it was well resourced and motivated through the Regional Women’s Organiser in a way that had never been seen in the region.
Alhaji Vellim emphasised that “We shall stand with them every step of the way in addressing their logistical needs. Our door-to-door campaigns shall be led by the women and the youth groups because of their strategic touch in executing an effective campaign.”
He promised to work to create the NDC Professionals Forum in the region “To network the brain power of our professionals and academics with a view of providing strategic and quality advice to the party in our quest to win election 2024.”
He further promised to reactivate the Forum for Former Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives as well as the Forum for Former Members of Parliament and regularly engage them “To make a tremendous use of their vast knowledge and experience as we seek to regain our majority seats in the region and win the next general election.”
He assured, “I shall reach out to everyone and at all levels of the party. I shall build a very strong coordination mechanism among the various organs of the party such as the Parliamentary Caucus, CDRs, the youth groups, women groups, elders of the party amongst others.”
GNA