The Member of Parliament for Nabdam in the Upper East Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has stated that he is not worried about the growing interest in the Nabdam seat, particularly as the NDC readies itself for the Parliamentary and Presidential primaries.
Information available to the MP suggests that 5 people may contest him in their attempts to lead the party to the 2024 general election.
“In my place, I think that not less than 4 people or 5 people may contest me. I could be the 6th or 5th person. The dynamics are there. But we understand, the NDC is coming to power in 2024 and everybody would want to associate himself with the winning team,” he said.
According to the MP, the sudden interest in the seat he occupies, along with other seats across the country, is due to the NDC’s imminent win. Dr. Nawaane suggested that in 2020 when the NDC’s chances were slimmer, individuals shied away from contesting.
All those who were on the fence [are coming in now]. In 2020, there was that feeling that it was a Herculean task for the NDC to win and no matter what we did, we were not going to win because of incumbency advantage unless we won by a very big margin. This did not happen. We kind of bridge the gap and with our performance at the Parliamentary level, I believe that people are now convinced that come 2024, at all cost and with the way they are shaving our heads with the economy, we are sure that we have the support of Ghanaians and in view of that, a lot of people are coming everybody wants to be a Member of Parliament in a ruling government. So I am not surprised that they are coming in their numbers,” said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nawaane advised constituencies across the length and breadth of the country to retain all performing Members of Parliament during elections.
Dr. Nawaane who is serving his second term in parliament said when constituents continue to renew the mandate of hardworking MPs, those MPs gain more experience in parliamentary duties to help develop their areas.
Speaking to A1 Radio on the Day break Upper East show, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health said the principles and the rules governing MPs in Parliament make it difficult for new faces to be recognized. Thus, well-performing MPs must be allowed by their constituents to stay longer in parliament.
“If you are aware of the dynamics, if a member of Parliament is good and if he is doing well in his constituency, then it is worth keeping him longer. Because if he is good at the constituency and you keep him longer, he will also get better in Parliament and he will also become more influential and he will be able to assist the constituency more. Remember that all these things are a bother on human relations and the longer they know you the better it is,” he said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
