A group calling itself the True Indigenes of New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Salaga has descended heavily on critics of one of the personalities penciled down as a possible running mate to the NPP presidential candidate Nana Akuffo Addo in the December elections. The group said it was alarmed by recent rumours being peddled in some quarters by certain individuals that seem to link Lepowura Alhaji Mohammed Nurudeen Jawula to the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Briefing Daily Guide in Accra, the group led by Alhaji Mahama Issah, who claimed to be a founding member of the party in East Gonja vehemently denied the allegation and challenged those behind such "cheap and unfounded propaganda" to come out for a public showdown to establish the authenticity of such claim. Alhaji Issah said Alhaji Jawula had long been associated with the Danquah-Busia Tradition tracing his family background with UP party of which Jawula was part of during its nurturing stage. He averred that Alhaji Jawula, who is also the Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, was one of the foot soldiers who single handedly financed the party's activities and provided them with a fully furnished office, as well as funded the purchase of bicycles given to the executives to enable them reach out to the electorates. Alhaji Issah said Jawulla, who was one time president of the Gonja Youth Association, was detained for six days at the Dansoman police station during the PNDC regime in 1992 due to his vocal and tacit support for the NPP, which the government saw as a threat to its support in the Gonja area. He described the rumour as "laughable, interesting and a smear campaign" by enemies of Jawula to discredit him. He recalled that in 1982, Alhaji Jawula was slated to become the Northern Regional Minister in the PNDC regime but due to Jawula's long association with the UP he was not accepted. Alhaji Issah described Alhaji Jawula as a unifier, well respected and that his impeccable history in the three Northern Regions, fits in Nana Akufo Addo's campaign slogan of "Ye nim wo feretiti" urging the flagbearer of the party to nominate him as his running mate. One of the group members Siibu Abudu Jebotte, asserted that Alhaji Jawula throughout his youthful days has offered support for the party and added that the NPP Gonja East constituency is divided and needed someone who could take the bull by its horn to bring aggrieved past executives of the party on board. Siibu Abudu, who explained that he represented the elephant in the Gonja area due to his name "Jebotte" meaning elephant in the Gonja language, said when the ban on political parties was lifted in 1969 after the overthrow of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Alhaji Jawula together with one Abukari mobilised the Gonja students front to galvanize support for the UP. He said Jawula's long association with the party was self evident by the level of support he had over the years offered to the party adding that the search for a possible partner to Nana Akuffo Addo could not fall on any other person than Lepowura Alhaji M.N.D Jawula. Siibu Abudu admitted that though they had been sidestepped by the party by certain individuals, they were ready in the interest of the NPP to resort to dialogue to help ensure victory for the party in the December elections. Source: Daily Guide