After exposing Minister over Alan

GWOLLU TURNS INTO BATTLEFIELD
Executives pounded before Mrs. Aliu Mahama, Hikah Benson accuses Dery

From Yussif Shaibu, Gwollu

Four constituency executive members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sustained various degrees of injury when two factions of the party in the Sissala West Constituency engaged in what could best be described as guerilla war at Gwollu, the capital of the Sissala West District.

The bloody clash which started last Friday saw a section of the members of the NPP. seriously practising how to attack another group of the party for embarrassing the Upper West Regional Minister ,Mr.George Hikah Benson in front of the Second Lady, Hajia Alima Mahama when she visited the constituency to campaign for her husband in the NPP flagbearership race.

According to one of the attacked people the situation was so nasty that traders who had come from afar to trade in the town had to stop their business activities and run for their dear lives as the market grounds was turned into a battle field.

When Chronicle got in touch with the Secretary of the party in the constituency, Mr. Isaac Montuo who was brutally assaulted, he narrated the genesis of the whole problem which he said started when the Second Lady visited the area to campaign for her husband’s bid to succeed President Kufour in the NPP flagbearership race.

He said in the course of the meeting the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr. George Hikah Benson urged the delegates present to vote for Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama in the December 22 flagbearship race scheduled to take place at Legon since Hajia Alima Mahama is a Sissala and comes from the area.

Mr. Montuo continued that the regional minister further promised the Second Lady that he was going to throw all his weight behind her husband and assured her of the votes in the region once he remained the boss of the region.

He said the statement made by the regional minister did not go down well with some of them as the same regional minister had on a number of occasions campaigned for Mr. Alan Kyerematen, one of the presidential candidates in the crucial December polls and therefore saw his sudden turn as playing an “ostrich game” to throw dust into their eyes.

He (Montuo) therefore sought permission to contribute to the meeting, which was reluctantly granted at the displeasure of the regional minister with a touch of regret.

The regional minister who was visibly disturbed was not happy with Montuo’s statement, which nearly plunged the meeting into pandemonium, but nerves were calmed to save them from embarrassment in front of the Second Lady.

The constituency secretary later told the Chronicle that two days after the meeting he was informed that some people were preparing in a bush close to the Burkinabe border to attack him. His fears were later confirmed when some group of people he suspected to be working for the regional minister attacked him.

Sources close to the Gwollu Police told this reporter that attempts to arrest the suspects were thwarted by the powers that be on the grounds that it was a party affair that would be settled amicably.

When the regional minister was contacted, he confirmed that there were troubles in the constituency but denied ever instructing the police not to effect the arrest of the culprits.

He challenged Mr Montuo to provide evidence to prove that he was supporting Alan Kyerematen. “I am a democrat and as the regional minister I support any candidate who comes to the region”, he said. He accused Montuo of tarnishing his image promising to meet him squarely.

The regional minister accused the former regional minister, Mr. Ambrose Derry for inciting some people like Montuo against him when he was the regional minister and added that all of them will be put to shame.

“The Chronicle gathered that the Second Lady was seriously disturbed about the alleged support being given to Alan by Mr. Hikah Benson because it was her husband who sponsored him to contest the Sisala west seat in 2004 and also helped with his appointment as the regional minister.