Bolgatanga, Feb. 25, GNA - Mr Isaac Adawele Atesige,

Second Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in

charge of Upper East Region, has announced his intention to

contest the party's primaries for the Chiana-Paga

Constituency. In that case the 36-year-old Second Vice Chairman, a

Quantity Surveyor, has to relinquish his position to enable him

to contest as the party's constitution demands. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Atesige said he

had all it took to contest the primaries and said he was

confident that he would win the seat for the area after the

primaries. He said the party would lose the seat if it did not get

somebody who had the qualities of winning the seat after the

primaries. Mr Atesige pointed out that as a young person, he had been

assured by the elders and the youth including women in the

area to stand for the primaries and that they would vote for him

as a Parliamentary Candidate. He was a social person and very much liked by the people

regardless of political affiliation and was more capable of

attracting floating voters to the party during the 2012 election. "I have more influence over the people in the area since I

grew up in the community and did things in common with them

and also appreciate their problems and needs. "Again about 70 per cent of the electorate in the area is the

youth and they pledged to vote for me both at the primaries

and parliamentary election". He noted that when he emerged the winner at the primaries

and subsequently become a Member of Parliament, his top

priority would be to develop the Paga Crocodile Pound and

slave market. He said he would do that through his share of the MP's

share of the common fund and also lobby for additional

sources of funding to develop the tourist sites. "When they are developed, they will help generate

employment for the people, especially the teaming youth who

migrate to the southern sector because of lack of jobs". He said another priority area would be to empower

women's groups in the area by lobbying to get microfinance to

undertake economic activities especially sheanut picking and

processing which were very common in the constituency. He said he would empower the youth to go into irrigation

farming and that one of the major problems facing the farmers

on their irrigated farms was lack of water, stressing that this

problem would be a thing of the past.