Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has indicated that though President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is not a northerner, he understands the plight of the people from the area.

He revealed that it is the reason he has implemented various pro-poor policies and programmes among other interventions aimed at lifting them from poverty.

According to him, poverty was a major challenge to education in the country as most parents were unable to pay the fees of their wards. This, he argued, compelled them to cut short their dream of higher education.

In view of this, the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo introduced the free Senior High School (SHS) to ensure that no child who is qualified to access secondary school education is denied the opportunity.

“1.2 million students in Ghana are enjoying free education, feeding and books. President Akufo-Addo understands the plight of the north and that is how come we are the biggest beneficiaries of Free SHS. He has also introduced policies that will help us and lift us out of poverty. Our own brother Mahama said it was not possible but Akufo-Addo has done it.

"Even in his era, chalk in school was a problem. We brought in Nana Akufo-Addo and there is a great difference in their performance of Nana Akufo-Addo and Mahama. He is creating jobs as we go on and the free SHS most important social intervention since independence”, he disclosed at Bimbilla in the Northern Region.

He explained that the motive for the free SHS is to provide equal opportunities for all students.

“We don’t want brilliant students to stay home and not enter the university. There is unprecedented development in Bimbilla within 4 years and he is number one on the ballot because God put him in number 1," he said.