Mrs. Rawlings receives massive support in TAMALE amid drumming and dancing

Former first lady of Ghana and NDC flag bearer contender Nana Konadu Agyeman- Rawlings has received a massive crowd of supporters in the northern regional capital of TAMALE on her final lap of her nation-wide ‘thank you’ tour to her supporters and delegates who rooted for her before, during and after her failed attempt at leading the ruling NDC into the 2012 general election- a crucial election that will determine who controls Ghana’s oil revenues.

Mrs. Rawlings who until the NDC primaries also served as national vice chairperson of the NDC is on a three northern regional tour of Ghana since last Thursday Sept. 28 2011 when she visited WA, in the upper west region as well as Bolgatanga in the upper east regions. Xfm95.1 sources say the massive crowd in TAMALE surpasses a combination of the first two regions with legions of people leading her from the TAMALE airport in the morning to pay courtesy calls on some prominent chiefs in the TAMALE metropolis before the main meeting.

Earlier, there were reports of threats from NDC youth groups known as the ‘Azoka boys’ warning the president of the 31st DWM and her FONKAR supporters to stay away from the region akin to the situation that confronted her in Cape Coast a fortnight ago where so-called ‘macho men’ locked up the venue for her meeting in the presence of uniformed police men without any resistance- a situation that received little condemnation from the NDC party top hierarchy- further re-enforcing the perception that these orchestrations may well be planned and executed by the presidency to further make the NDC founder and his family look irrelevant in the party. But unlike in Cape Coast where these threats were carried through, Xfm95.1 can report that the situation in TAMALE is totally different. Motto bike riders, plus scores of party supporters clad in party paraphernalia have taken over the streets

in TAMALE in massive show of support for the former first lady contrary to directives by party officials for them to boycott the meeting. Relations between the Rawlings’ and the Atta Mills led presidency have remained frosty after a bitterly contested congress that saw the president Mills re-endorsed by 96.9% of national delegates. Things have been further aggravated by speculations that the former first lady may be considering running as independent presidential candidate in 2012. This has however been sufficiently dispelled by Nana Konadu and her team who insists that she will not abandon the party she co-founded with her husband and former president Jerry John Rawlings. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings is expected to stress the need for a party devoid of apathy at the grassroots capable of winning the next elections in her meetings today. She is also expected to stress the need for massive voter registration by the party followers when the EC opens the voter register. Mrs. Rawlings will end her national ‘thank you’ tour today after touring all ten regions of Ghana.

Story by A.S Denis/xfm95.1/Accra-Ghana