The crowd at the rally
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia kick-started the final lap of his campaign in the Ashanti Region to a tumultuous welcome yesterday.
Everywhere he went, Bawumia, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate in the upcoming December general election, was mobbed by hordes of party supporters.
He, therefore, took the opportunity to announce his intentions to make the development of the railway industry one of his topmost priorities when elected president.
He believes this will not only help improve Ghana’s transport system but also develop the bauxite industry.
Addressing various community engagements (stakeholder forum), Dr. Bawumia said, “One of my priorities and heart desires is to develop the railway industry, because if you have bauxite and you don’t have a functioning railway network, it will be difficult for you to develop. But if the railway comes, it will help develop the country.”
He has, therefore, promised to as a matter of urgency help develop the Accra-Tema-Kumasi rail network; from Kumasi to Takoradi, from Awaso through Nyinahin to Aduade and Adum to Ankaase.
That, he said, was because “the railway is very important so we will take it from Accra through Kumasi to the North, and then we will explore bauxite, iron ore and all the deposits to bring the much needed transformation we desire, because that is where the transformation is going to come from.”
He kick-started his Ashanti regional campaign from far away Ntobroso in the Atwima Mponua Constituency; 63 kilometres from Kumasi, with an hour and 45 minutes drive.
The entire town had been literally painted in the white, blue and red colours of the New Patriotic Party in anticipation of Dr. Bawumia’s arrival.
The over-excited party faithful were thrown into a state of frenzy when they saw the NPP flagbearer’s ‘It is possible’ branded bus entering the town.
Before the bus could stop for Dr. Bawumia and members of his campaign team to alight, the youth of the town had besieged its doors, making it almost impossible for the man to descend until after some time.
The entire place went haywire when he got down and started waving at the crowd, with the usual chants of ‘number one’ and ‘it is possible’.
The local Methodist Church where Dr. Bawumia was to do a stakeholder engagement had been swarmed by party supporters.
It took the plea of the party leadership for them to make way for the chiefs, pastors and imam’s who had gathered for the event.
The situation was no different at Nyinahin where party supporters had taken the streets by storm with a brass band in tow amidst drumming and dancing.
The team then proceeded to Toase and Abuakwa in the Atwima-Nwabiagya South Constituency, as well as Akropong and Koforidua in Atwima-Nwabiagya North, where he had well-attended stakeholder engagements and the now popular ‘Youth Connect’ programme.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Toase