From Edmond Gyebi, Tamale,
THE PARAMOUNT Chief of Sagnarigu Traditional Area and Former Ghana’s Ambassador to Senegal in the Atta Mills’ administration, Naa Yakubu Abdulai has descended heavily on the Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini and his compatriot at the Tamale North Constituency, Alhassan Dahamani for their alleged refusal to participate in functions meant for the development of the area. The two MPs, he said, have not been visiting their constituents.
Speaking at the sod cutting ceremony for the construction of the Sagnarigu District Assembly office complex at Kpene in the Sagnarigu District, the Paramount Chief expressed utmost consternation at the behavior of the two MPs and warned the entire people in the two constituencies to vote against any MP who was not ready to serve their interest.
“Everybody should keep this in mind. We do not elect people to go and represent themselves. We elect them to represent us, and anybody you see not representing you; you should advice yourselves come 2016. When we elect people we give them our power to serve us.
“So anybody who is in power to serve himself does not deserve our mandate. I will repeat this everywhere! We elect you to represent us and in our times of need we expect you to be with us. And this occasion is one of them, we are really disappointed”.
According to the Former Ambassador, he had personally rebuked the two MPs on so many occasions on some of their shortcomings and as a result, they had always absented themselves from any occasion that he (the Chief) is present.
That notwithstanding, the Chief vowed to continue to hummer on the concerns of the people in the constituencies until the time that they (the MPs) would sit up and champion the development of the area and improve on the living conditions of the people.
“I have told them so many things personally and that is why you don’t see them hurrying up to be in my company. But I am with my people and I will talk for them today, I will talk for them tomorrow so far as God Almighty blesses me with a voice”. His comment received long cheers from the crowd.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the Paramount Chief of Sagnarigu is attacking the MP for Sagnarigu, Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini who is also the Deputy Northern Regional Minister and Mr. Alhassan Dahamani, MP for Tamale North over their perceived invisibility and lack of concern towards the plights of the people.
The Sagnarigu Naa Abdulai Yakubu on February 2nd, 2015, launched a fierce attack on the two MPs, especially A.B.A. Fuseini, for perceived non performance, when a team of Ministers led by the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Nii Lantey Vanderpuje paid a courtesy call on the Chief at his palace, ahead of the National Sanitation Week Celebration in the Northern Region.
The Chief equally expressed disappointment at the Northern Regional Minister and the Coordinating Council for also failing to turn up or send a representative to the occasion.
“This is one of the most important moments in the life of Sagnarigu District and I expected that the key political figures will show interest, but I am shocked to see that none of them is here. I don’t want to believe that their absence is not an abstract of interest in the welfare and progress of our district.
I have also not seen a representative of the regional administration and I think this not a very good show of support for decentralized administration. We shouldn’t be interest in it only when it comes to contracts and other jobs”.
He emphasized that the Minister and the MPs had no rights to hide behind the State of the Nation Address, delivered by the President in Parliament to excuse themselves when there were several airlines operating between Tamale and Accra on daily basis.
On the other hand, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sagnarigu, Alhassan Mohammed Sorogudoo, said though he could not hold brief for them, both the Regional Minister and his deputy were still busily attending to some official assignments as at the time he was leaving Accra for Tamale.
According to the DCE he personally had a chat with the two gentlemen of the region after the occasion in Parliament before emplaning to Tamale for the sod cutting ceremony for the construction of the 1.6 million Ghana cedi Assembly Block.
Mr. Sorogudoo told the Chief that the Minister and the two MPs had actually delegated him to represent them and, therefore, promised to pass on the concerns raised by the chief on behalf of the people of the district to his superiors.
The DCE, on behalf of the President of Ghana and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, thanked the Chiefs in Sagnarigu District for releasing a 50 acre land free of charge for the construction of the district administration.
Efforts to contact the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, to explain why he could not personally attend the occasion proved unsuccessful.