My Brothers and Sisters, District Men and Women, Allies and Opponents, Constituency Executives and Dear Delegates of the main opposition party NPP, I write as a concerned citizen of Sissala land and Mother Ghana as a whole to remind you delegates of the heroic task ahead. A debt of gratitude to you all as you gear towards electing your parliamentary candidate for Sisala East Constituency of the Upper West Region to contest for the 2016 General Elections.

With all fairness, I see it pointless to have a parliamentary candidate who can't win power. I equally see it needless to elect somebody who becomes an MP and yet the poor and under-privileged constituents who troop in droves to vote him/her into office continue to languish in an immobile and unprogressive society where social problems, desperation and hopelessness are the defining features. I feel horrified that we are unable to detect this scandal. Delegates, make a difference.

Dear Delegates, your bold vision should be to elect somebody who has the ordinary people at heart, who has good leadership skills and who is incorruptible, sincere, compassionate, visionary and action-oriented. Such as a person should spearhead NPP formidably and should develop proper strategies for the Party to win power in the next general elections.

Apparently, the only way you (NPP) can win power in 2016 is to elect a person with the aforementioned qualities and who can as well solve the litany of problems which confront our people. Let me also use this opportunity to inform your party members that unity is all that you need to fight for victory. That is, unity is the bedrock of political success. In no uncertain terms, I believe that a word to the wise is supposed to be enough.

I am exceedingly glad to offer this piece of advice to you not necessarily because I'm a concerned citizen but also because seizing every opportunity to develop our constituency politically, socially and economically is an honour and not a privilege. These parliamentary primaries mark the re-engineering of the priorities and aspirations of your party loyalists and activists within the Sissala East District. But how? Because you have to take a bold initiative and elect a courageous and secure candidate for your party at the constituency level.

Lessons from the last general elections especially those that emanated from the Electoral Petition supposedly reveal that your party lost the 2012 Elections because the grassroots failed to monitor the ballot boxes well. And to prevent this situation from ever repeating itself, you must elect a truly competent person.

NPP has existed for some years without an MP in our constituency; this situation is extremely unacceptable. The party must do its best possible to win the Sissala East Constituency in the next elections.

In fact, our constituency deserves a better leadership, a more efficient government and a clearer direction. You must give full meaning to the overused rhetoric that power belongs to you people also. Please, be guided by the basic fact that words may show a man’s intelligence, but actions show his true meaning. I urge you all not to wait until you are ready to take action; instead, take action to be ready. TAKE ACTION TO WIN THE 2016 ELECTIONS NOW!!

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly wish all the aspirants the very best of luck but they should be mindful of their campaign messages. In particular, these messages should be devoid of personal attacks and fabrication of information to paint one another black. Why? Because win or lose you still need the support of your opponent(s). I thank you for your attention.

The author Mr. Prince Justice Ali is a Sentimental Advocate for Development.
Cell: 0204803328.