President Mahama appeals to NDC executives to welcome "returnees"

President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday appealed to the leadership of the National Democratic Congress to cordially accept members, who left the party but had decided to return. He said: "In every human organization there are bound to be disagreements and if for one reason or the other they left and are coming back, there should not be any impediment on their way." President Mahama, who was addressing an NDC rally at Damongo, as part his campaign tour of the Northern region, said it was not politically expedient to turn away members for the mere reason that they had once left the party. "Let us see all the returnees as the Biblical prodigal son who was given the best of treatment on his return, because in Multi-party elections, numbers are very crucial and important," he added. President Mahama also addressed similar rallies at Kusugwu, Yapei, Fufulso, Busunu, Larabagna, Sawla and Bole, as well as making whistle stops at all the communities along the route to Bole. He called for unity and cooperation among all members, urging them to eschew complacency and forge ahead to unite all members for a massive victory in the forthcoming g 2012 general election. The President appealed to all members of Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKA) and members of the National Democratic Party to return to the NDC to make it a formidable force capable of winning the December polls in the first round. He promised to continue and complete all the development projects that were initiated by the late President John Evans Atta Mills and urged the people of the area to vote massively for him to acquire the mandate to execute the projects. President Mahama said the awarding of the Sawla-Fufulso road and the subsequent construction works going on was ample testimony to the fact that the NDC government was committed to the development of the entire country irrespective of their geographical location, ethnic group or religion. At Yapei, President Mahama said government had awarded the Yapei small town water system on contract and that work would soon start  Yagbonwura Tutumba Borisah I, King of Gonjaland commended the government for the numerous development projects they had executed in the last four years and appealed to President Mahama to complete all the projects initiated by late President Mills. He appealed to government to provide all the necessary support that would ensure peaceful and acceptable elections this year.

GNA