Garu (U/E), Feb. 22, GNA - A Parliamentary aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the newly created Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region, Mr. Emmanuel Asigri, has called on Mr. Joseph Akudibillah, MP for the area if he would stand as an Independent again.

Speaking to the GNA at Guru, he said it would be politically wise for the NPP to field its own candidate to contest the seat if the Mr Akudibillah decided to go Independent in the forthcoming polls, adding that, all means would be used to reject any imposition of a parliamentary candidate on the constituency.

He was optimistic that the NPP could capture the seat and said government policies have enjoyed tremendous support among the people, which could brighten the party's chances for victory. Mr Asigri acknowledged Mr Akudbilla's efforts in promoting government policies among the people, but stressed the need for the MP to publicly declare his political stand.

He said since Mr Akudibilla is a Deputy Minister of Defence and not a member of the Party he must renounce his previous links with any other political party.

The parliamentary hopeful, who lost to the Deputy Minister in the 2000 election on the ticket of the NPP, said members of the party were willing to accept Mr Akudibilla into their fold and allow him to contest the primaries if he so desired.

He commended Mr. Akudibillah for his steadfastness in addressing issues rather than personalities in Parliament and for pursuing various programmes in the area to alleviate poverty.

Mr. Asigri indicated his preparedness to tackle the problems of the area with diligence when given the nod to represent the people in Parliament.