The newly elected Upper East Regional Communication Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abdallah Jonathan Salifu has said it is a new era for political party communication in the region.
He spoke on A1 Radio after his decisive win at the recently ended NDC Regional Conference.
Mr. Abdallah polled 264 votes. Sunday Casper Kampoli polled 198 while the incumbent, Mr. Saeed Ahmed Tijani polled 26 votes.
When Mr. Salifu spoke to A1 Radio ahead of the election, he said he had paid his dues and expected the delegates to reward him for his steadfastness and commitment to the party.
“Haven’t I paid my dues? I believed I have. I’ve paid my dues. Everybody knows my story. In fact I came into the political limelight in 2005 when I finished polytechnic. After national service in 2004 I decided to join active politics. So I decided to start from the branch level, and came to the constituency, at least I did not have less than 12 years holding different positions. From Youth Organizer to Secretary; I worked very well with the youth wing as well and at one point I was the Regional Youth Secretary.”
“In 2018 I decided that if you crawl, you have to get up and walk so let me move to the next stage which is the regional level. So I put myself up for a contest, everybody knows the story. I lost by a single vote. I’ve never been demoralised,” Mr Salifu added.
Speaking on the same platform after the election, Mr. Abdallah expressed gratitude to all who made it possible for his election.
“It has been okay so far. We’re still trying to see if we can water down the stress, especially on the last day. There was a lot of pressure. In fact, that day, I couldn’t even eat. I picked one gentleman in the car and he took one and the other one was in the car. When we drove for like 5 minutes, he said chief, you take your porridge because we do not know what may happen. I wasn’t even listening to him. When the results were declared, we were in the mood for celebration and so there was no time to eat,” he said.
Mr. Abdallah extended his gratitude to his supporters who voted and contributed towards his campaign. He mentioned that he, along with his Deputy Regional Communication Officer, Benjamin Atuasi, had visited all their competitors and had quashed all existing issues. All the contenders for the two positions have resolved to work together to support the party’s bid to recapture power in 2024 saying, “we have assured them that we would work with them no matter the situation.”
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
