Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the NPP flag bearer has said that agriculture would be a major focus of the next NPP administration. He said agriculture would be one of the major tools for the transformation of the North. Dr. Bawumia made this known at Wungu in the Walewale Constituency of the Northern Region on Monday. He was addressing a durbar of chiefs, elders and the people of the town as part of his tour of the Mamprugu areas of the region. Addressing the people in his native Mampruli, Dr. Bawumia said, “Nana Akufo-Addo is committed to see the North develop and the gap between us and our brothers and sisters in the south bridged. We are focused on transforming the north. We want to put the vast land at our disposal to productive purposes and to make the North a food basket for Ghana and the entire Sahel region in order specifically to create jobs and improve lives.” Dr.Bawumia noted that the Northern Development Authority would spearhead the transformation of the North. He said that the NDA would be tasked to use agriculture as one of its key priority areas. He stated that the North had rich land which could not be allowed to lie fallow anymore. The NPP running mate said that aggressively developing agriculture in the north would lead to significant improvements in the lives of the millions of who depend on agriculture. He also indicated that this would ensure that peasant farmers secure stable and decent livelihoods and would also stem the drift to the south by able bodied men and women to engage in menial jobs. He added that improving the road infrastructure will be a key component of this northern development strategy. Former Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama who is on tour with Dr. Bawumia asked the people of the North to realize that the election was ultimately about their livelihoods. He asked the electorate to vote for the Nana Akufo-Addo who had demonstrated that he had the ideas and the commitment to make life better for Ghanaians. Dr. Bawumia is accompanied on the tour by a number of eminent NPP personalities who hail from the north. These include Shaykh T.B. Damba, second vice chairman of the NPP, Mr. Bugri Naabu, a leading member of the NPP in the Northern Region, Mr. J.J Yidana, a former Police Chief who was exiled after the 31st December coup. Mustapha Hamid, spokesperson to NPP presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, Mr. Ben Salifu, former Northern Regional Minister, NPP National Youth Organizer, Anthony Karbo, Madam Rita Asobayire, former National Women’s Organizer of the NPP, Rashid COP, Northern Regional Youth Organizer and the NPP’s parliamentary candidates for the Mamprugu constituencies.