Thirty aspirants have filed nomination forms at the Upper West Regional office of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Wa to contest various regional executive positions ahead of the party’s internal election.
The filing attracted constituency executives and grassroots members seeking regional leadership roles, with aspirants highlighting grassroots empowerment, party reorganisation and efforts to retain the party’s parliamentary seats in the region.
A total of 60 aspirants picked nomination forms, with all applicants expected to undergo vetting on Friday ahead of the regional delegates conference scheduled for next month.
Chairmanship contest
Among those contesting the regional chairmanship is Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency Chairman Sombawiere Samba, popularly known as Sankara. He faces incumbent chairman Abdul Nasir Saani, who also filed his nomination on Thursday, and businessman Alhassan Aadam Randy.
Speaking after filing, Mr Samba highlighted his progression through the party’s ranks, from polling agent and branch chairman to ward chairman, before serving eight years as Deputy Regional Treasurer and becoming constituency chairman.
“I started as a grassroots person… If I succeed, everybody who wants to lead the party in the region must start from the grassroots,” he said.
He cited his contributions to development in Nadowli-Kaleo, including the provision of 1,400 chairs distributed across 114 polling stations and the initiation of a permanent constituency office project.
Mr Samba pledged to extend similar infrastructure development across the region by helping all constituencies acquire furnished offices and securing a permanent regional headquarters for the party.
On the NDC’s parliamentary performance in the region, he argued that credit for winning seats should be shared with constituencies, Members of Parliament and branch executives rather than attributed solely to regional executives.
Mr Saani, who filed earlier in the day, urged delegates to retain him as regional chairman.
Vice-chairmanship and deputy secretary races
Daffiama-Bussie-Issa Constituency Chairman and Dean of Constituency Chairmen, Boniface Tienaah, has filed to contest the regional vice-chairmanship.
He said his priority would be to support whoever emerged as regional chairman through advice and practical assistance.
“As a vice chairman, you don’t really have the direct mandate. The best you can do is to make sure that you give the best ideas to your regional chairman and support him vividly,” Mr Tienaah said.
He stressed the need for regional leadership to remain responsive to branch executives to prevent grassroots members from feeling neglected after elections.
The contest for Deputy Regional Secretary has attracted Dr Angsongna Banangmwine Claudius, popularly known as Dr ABC, and former Regional Elections and IT Directorate member Cornelius Naasoa Wuobar.
Dr Claudius cited his administrative experience as a former two-time president of the Graduate Students’ Associations of Ghana (GRASAG) at the University of Ghana and the University for Development Studies.
He pledged to lobby for 44 tertiary scholarships across the region’s 11 constituencies during a four-year term and to modernise party secretariats through improved IT infrastructure, internet access and dedicated office managers.
He also called for fair distribution of opportunities and warned against sidelining branch executives in post-election welfare and programme allocations.
Mr Wuobar, who resigned from the Regional Elections and IT Directorate to contest, said his experience as a former Deputy Youth Organiser and Constituency Secretary in Nandom had prepared him for the role.
He expressed confidence in the NDC’s structures in the Upper West Region and dismissed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a threat to the party’s standing.
“We are not going to leave an inch for them… We don’t have boys; we have men. Proper men,” he said.
“This time we are going to do shoe-to-shoe; we have already dealt with the boot-to-boot,” he added, suggesting that the party was prepared to match its political opponents at every level.
One woman files on opening day
Gladys Sufuyani was the only woman to file on the opening day, seeking the position of Deputy Regional Women’s Organiser.
The regional vetting committee is scheduled to vet all applicants on Friday, ahead of the regional delegates conference next month.