Wa, Nov. 05, GNA - Mr Ambrose Dery, the Upper West Regional Minister, on Saturday urged supporters of the New Patriotic Party to display humility and show love to one another in order to attract more people to the party.

He said more people wished to join the party and make its victory in the 2008 general elections a fore gone conclusion but that could only be realized if party members remained united and had a single sense of purpose.

Mr Dery said this at a rally organized at the Wa lorry park on Saturday to welcome 150 traders in the Wa Municipality who had defected from the National Democratic Congress to the NPP.

The Regional Minister said the defection was a testimony that the development projects undertaken by the NPP since it came into office and its policies and programmes in general were being appreciated by majority of Ghanaians and they were joining it to show their gratitude. He advised the supporters to avoid the tendency to draw a distinction between old and new members of the party as that would undermine party unity.

Alhaji Abubakar Abdul-Rahman, the Regional Chairman of the party, welcomed the defectors and assured them that they would never regret leaving the NDC.

He said the NPP believed in creating opportunities for everybody to enjoy rather than using handouts to entice voters and abandon them after securing their mandate.

Mr Mac Adams Banda, Wa Municipal Chief Executive, assured residents of the municipality that all communities and suburbs would soon get electricity and frequent supply of water. A spokeswoman for the defectors, Madam Ayishetu Kassim, said they used to think that NPP's promises were mere rhetoric but its work since it came to power had proved them wrong, hence they were joining to support the party to achieve its goal of redeeming the people from extreme poverty.

Another defector, Mr Ahmed Mununi, said they were not going to be passive supporters of the NPP but would rather be at the centre of events in the region to ensure that the party wins the next elections.