A traditional ruler in the Upper West Region has expressed support for Vice President Aliu Mahama in his bid to be elected the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party. Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II, Paramount Chief of the Jirapa Traditional Area, said the chiefs and people of the area were solidly behind Vice President Aliu Mahama and urged all delegates to make that day "Aliu Mahama's day." The chief’s prompting, according to the Statesman, must have come as a boost to the Vice President whose campaign strategy has aimed to 'annex' all three northern regions. The Upper West Region appears to be his strongest hold where he's fiercely challenged by Nana Akufo-Addo and Alan Kyerematen. In the Upper East, surveys of party executives put Akufo-Addo way ahead followed by the Vice President and Kyerematen. According to the Statesman, all five constituencies in the Bawku municipality have pledged to vote en bloc for Akufo-Addo, a development, which was, discussed when the party's national steering committee met all the aspirants in Accra last week. Akufo-Addo is also expected to sweep up the votes in the Northern Region, including Tamale and Yendi. His regional tour there three weeks ago confirmed his popularity. According to the Statesman, a similar rally there by Mr Kyerematen was remarkable for its paling in significance as compared to Akufo-Addo's welcome. Alhaji Aliu Mahama launched his national campaign in a spectacular way Saturday at Mankesim. The Jirapa paramount chief urged NPP delegates, especially those from the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions who would be taking part in the December 22 National Congress to vote for the Vice President. He warned that the success or failure of the Vice President at the congress would depend on the actions and inactions of delegates from the three northern regions. The three northern regions control about 490 votes. But, contrary to the campaign being pushed by Aliu's camp, the population of the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions is vast and heterogeneous in both ethnicity and religion. What they share in common is under-development, a situation which next year's national budget seeks to address with the setting up of a special development fund for the north with seed capital of more than $25 million. A special team is also to be set up to address the special development needs of the area, with a special focus on agriculture. Naa Ansoleh Ganaa was speaking at a durbar organised in honour of Hajia Ramatu Mahama, wife of the Vice President, who was on a three-day tour of the region to interact with chiefs and NPP executives to solicit for votes for her husband. The tour took her to Dorimon, Kaleo, Jirapa, Nandom, Lambussie, Tumu, Gwollu, Wallembelle and Kundungu Traditional Areas. At a separate durbar at Nandom, the Nandom Naa Puoure Puobe Chiir IV, also urged the delegates to elect Vice President Aliu Mahama to continue with the good development plans of the NPP. At Jirapa, Naa Ansoleh Ganaa reminded the delegates that Dr. Hilla Limann, who was the first northerner to be elected President, had his administration disrupted after ruling for only 27 months. Therefore, the presence of Vice President Aliu Mahama in the NPP presidential race was a chance for them and they should not allow it to slip by. Naa Ansoleh Ganaa commended the NPP government for the development projects in his traditional area and pro-poor interventions it had put in place. He also applauded the government for its intervention in providing food aid to flood victims in the Upper West Region and called for more assistance to mitigate the suffering of the people. Hajia Ramatu Mahama appealed to the people of Jirapa Traditional Area to remain united and to pool resources to support Naa Ansoleh Ganaa to develop the district. She urged the people to take the education of their children seriously, saying without education there could not be any meaningful development in the district. The Nandom Naa Puoure Puobe Chiir appealed to the government to create a separate constituency for the Nandom area. Chiefs from Tumu, Gwollu, Wallembelle and Kundungu also raised similar concerns at separate durbars. At Kundungu, Kuoru Bakuli Bakubie appealed for the extension of electricity and communication facilities to the Wa East District. Hajia Ramatu Mahama thanked Upper West chiefs for showing appreciation to the government for providing development projects for the region. Source: The Statesman