Nana Akufo-Addo has made a passionate appeal to the people of the Upper East region to disregard the predictable tribal campaign that will be waged by President John Mahama in the three Northern regions in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

The opposition leader made this known on Friday when he rounded off his two-day tour of the Upper East region, in a meeting with members of his party in Bawku.

According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, considering the abysmal record of President Mahama, the only hope of winning votes from the people of the three Northern regions would be to, once again, play the tribal card.

“Next year we are going to be told in this part of our world that somebody comes from here, you should allow him to continue. To continue to keep us in the mess we find ourselves in now? Does that make sense for us?” the NPP flagbearer asked.

It will be recalled that, in November 2012, President Mahama, whilst campaigning in the North, asked the people of the three Northern regions to vote for him because he was a Northerner, adding that “our brother Aliu Mahama was Vice President for eight years. I was Vice President for three and half years. For almost 12 years, we have tasted Vice Presidency. It’s no longer exciting. It’s no longer what we want.”

In addition to playing the tribal card, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that President Mahama and his party will throw in all kinds of goodies, like bags of rice, flour, motorbikes and bicycles, to be distributed next year to poor people.

“At the end of the day they get hold of the power and leave us in the situation which we find ourselves in, with no hope. We can’t afford to do that again. As far as I am concerned, it isn’t where you come from that matters. It is what you can do for the people of Ghana, that’s what matters. If you come from an area and you can’t perform and people go hungry because of you, what is the essence of keeping you in office? That campaign is coming,” he warned.