National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has expressed gratitude to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for deciding not to contest the upcoming Tamale Central by-election.

Speaking at the Adua funeral rite for the late Member of Parliament, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, on Tuesday, August 12, Asiedu Nketia urged NDC members to avoid internal wrangling over who should replace the deceased legislator.

“We thank our brothers in the NPP for declaring that they will not contest us in Tamale Central. Now the challenge is ours, whether we will fight among ourselves over who should replace Murtala. On behalf of the party, I want to say, let us not rush in choosing his successor,” he cautioned.

The NPP, on Monday, August 11, announced its withdrawal from the race, citing the need to avoid further political division during a period of national mourning following Dr Mohammed’s death in a helicopter crash on August 6.

The tragedy, which also claimed the lives of Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, three other high officials, and three servicemen, has left the Tamale Central seat vacant, triggering the constitutional requirement for a by-election.