An attempt to resolve deep cracks in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region resulted in a free-for-all fight, compelling some internal security officers of the party to whisk national chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia to safety.
The altercation erupted when the party’s national vice chairman, Awudu Sofo Azorka, criticized the four Members of Parliament in the Tamale enclave for boycotting the meeting, a comment that infuriated supporters of the MPs.
The NDC National and Regional leadership convened at the Global Dream Hotel in Tamale on January 6 to address deep divisions in the party stemming from the removal of Haruna Iddrisu, the former Minority leader, from his position.
As a form of protest against the perceived mistreatment of the Tamale South MP, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, along with Alhassan Suhuyini and Alhassan Bashir Alhassan (ABA) Fuseini, MPs for Tamale Central, Tamale North, and Sagnarigu respectively, together with Haruna Iddrisu, boycotted the meeting.
During an open forum, Sofo Azorka expressed doubt that the engagement would achieve its intended purpose of unity due to the boycott by the four MPs. This comment infuriated Tia Fuseini, bodyguard of Ali Adolf, the Northern Regional Chairman of NDC and a supporter of Haruna. An altercation between him and Abdul-Razak Shamima, NDC Northern Regional Treasurer and a John Mahama fanatic, ensued, resulting in the firing of gunshots and the wielding of cutlasses.
The ensuing free-for-all fight led to an injury to the Northern Regional Treasurer and the tearing of Sofo Azorka’s attire.
It was reported that there are unresolved differences between Sofo Azorka and Inusah Fuseini, former MP for Tamale Central faction on one hand, and Haruna Iddrisu and Ali Adolf factions on the other hand.
Amid the melee, supporters of the four MPs attacked Asiedu Nketia, accusing him of orchestrating the ill-treatment of Haruna.
They also accused the party’s flagbearer of engaging in tribal politics, deliberately sidelining Dagombas in the NDC. They referred to the mistreatment meted out to Haruna when Mr. Mahama was president.
It is noteworthy that the disagreement between John Mahama and Haruna Iddrisu allegedly led to Mr. Mahama sidelining Haruna Iddrisu during his tenure as president.
This disagreement resulted in an altercation leading to the vandalization of party billboards for President John Mahama and Inusa Fuseini.
The youth, angered by the exclusion of Mr. Haruna Iddrisu from the list of ministerial nominees released by John Mahama in January 2013, threatened to continue their acts of vandalism if their MP was not appointed by the president.
