Mahama will visit Natinga in due course- Ayariga apologises to enraged Bawku youth

Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has stated that the continuous strife in Bawku prevented his party's presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama from visiting the town during his tour of the region.

According to Mr. Ayariga, security experts advised thr flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader John Mahama to avoid the crisis zone to guarantee the safety of his entourage and the citizens who chose to join his team.

Speaking on Woezor TV on Saturday, August 3, the MP for the area apologised to the enraged youth who later went on a rampage.

"Even yesterday, John Dramani Mahama could not drive through the town. If you noticed, we had to bypass the town because many of the youth wanted to follow him on the tour, and he could not drive through the town with them for fear that anything could happen to anybody."

"The same way my uncle had difficulties in attending the rally and so they demanded that John Dramani Mahama should come to them and yet the security situation was not promising and everybody was growing cold feet. We didn't want to trigger anything and so when we decided not to pass through the town, you noticed that yesterday they were very bitter and posters of mine and John Mahama were being burnt. It was because of the security situation and the fact that security experts advised us not to take the risk. It is painful and it hurts," he emphasised.

His statement comes after video footage showing NDC youth in Natinga destroying party paraphernalia, including posters for the Parliamentary and Presidential candidates surfaced.

According to sources, the youth were disappointed that the NDC flagbearer was unable to visit the Chief of Bawku and other traditional leaders.

Mr. Ayariga apologised for the error and stated that the entourage had to deal with time constraints 

"We had done four stops even though we were allocated two and had far exceeded the time allotted to Bawku," he added.

He emphasized that Mr. Mahama will visit the town as part of his nationwide campaign.

"We appreciate the love for the party and desire to host the flagbearer. I wish to assure them that this is just the beginning of the campaign. The flagbearer, H.E. John Dramani Mahama will surely visit Natinga in due course".

Source : Lead News Online