The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy is to spearhead a demonstration in Wa of the Upper West region to protest against discrimination and marginalization of northern Ghana. A statement issued in Accra by Mr Adongo Ayorogo Bismark, President and Joseph Konnuba, Secretary, said the demonstration will come off next Wednesday. It said the protest is also to draw the attention of the President and the government to the plight of the three regions in the northern part of the country to start implementing policies and programmes for its development. It said the south is “privileged” but the north is “marginalized." It pointed out that there had been greater intensity of marginalization of the three regions and described the number of northerners in the government as "only token" and with "minimal influence in the distribution of national resources as advocated under the constitution". NORPA stated that the marginalization of the three northern regions had become well known that the office of the British Prime Minister in a statement confirmed its awareness of discrimination against the area. It expressed concern that the government had not taken appropriate measures to address the issues it raised in a petition it presented to it on 14 December 2006. It noted that the three regions had been excluded from the President's special initiatives and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) fund while the government had not shown its preparedness to allocate resources in accordance with the formula of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy. Source: GNA