Hajia Adiza aka Zongo Pioneer receiving the items from John Boadu
Female porters, popularly called Kayayei, at the Kokomba Market in Accra, who mostly hail from the three Northern regions, say they will oppose any ploy by President Mahama and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to get them to vote on tribal lines again.
Spokesperson for the group, Hajia Adiza, popularly known as Zongo Pioneer, recalled how President Mahama and the NDC deceived them to vote for him just because he was a Northerner.
She disclosed this when acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu presented them with some bags of rice, cartons of cooking oil and biscuits to help break their fast after a month-long period of fasting and prayers.
“Almost four years after winning the elections, our lives have rather worsened with President Mahama virtually leaving us to our fate.
She said “we will not sit down for somebody to come and tell us I am from the North so vote for me because of my tribe.”
That, she said, was because elections are not about one’s tribe but competence and ability to deliver.
While she admitted the fact that no government can put money in people’s pockets, she was of the conviction that when the Akufo-Addo and the NPP come to power, they would put measures in place to better the lives of Ghanaians.
Hajia Adiza, who used to be a staunch NDC woman but defected to the NPP, said the previous Kufuor administration introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which has almost been collapsed by the Mahama-led NDC administration.
“This is our own northern brother at the helm of affairs who is not helping us so I want to plead with Ghanaians, especially the Kayayei not to buy the vile propaganda and speculations being churned out by the NDC that when Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo comes to power, he will drive all of us back to our hometown”
Apart from that, she indicated that the NDC and their agents have been going round telling Kayayei that when Akufo-Addo wins power, clashes would erupt in Dagbon because of the death of the late chief of the area, Yana Yakubu Andani, who was killed in cold blood some years ago.
The spokesperson, who is affectionately called Zongo Pioneer, however stressed that nothing of that sort would happen since Akufo-Addo and the NPP accepted the outcome of the election petition hearing by the Supreme Court in the interest of peace.
She expressed profound gratitude to the party for the donation.
Zongo Pioneer said all Kayayei across the country would do everything possible to capture power from the ruling NDC.
On his part, John Boadu, on behalf of the NPP, promised to improve the living conditions of Kayayei when voted into power, reiterating Akufo-Addo’s commitment to building hostels to host them.
He therefore charged them to help bring NPP to power to improve the country’s economy.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu