The North East Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It was curved out of the Northern region in December 2018 following a referendum with Nalerigu as its regional capital.

The landmass of the North East region is 9,072 km2. The landmass of the North East region is larger than the landmass of the Upper East region with a landmass of 8,842, the Ahafo region with a landmass of 5,193, and the Greater Accra region with a landmass of 3,245.

The population size of the North East region is 658,946 according to the 2021 population and housing census. The population of the North East region is greater than the Savannah region 653,266 and the Ahafo region which has a population of 564,668.

The North East region places 14th in terms of population of Ghana and 13th in terms of land size. The North East region has the least MMDCEs, with only six (6) administrative districts and constituencies. This can partly be blamed on the selfishness of the politicians in the region.

The West and East Mamprusi Municipal Assemblies are more than qualified to be split into three (3) districts each. Still, the selfish politicians of Mamprugu failed to do so because they feared losing some political authority if that was done.

The number of votes garnered by Hon. Abdallah Abubakari, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Walewale constituency (30,615), representing 48.55%, was higher than the combined votes of both the NPP and NDC parliamentary candidates for the Pusiga, Binduri, and Garu constituencies, respectively.

Therefore, the comments made by the Flagbearer of the NDC, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, to the effect of comparing the six administrative districts of the Bawku traditional area to the entire North East region were ill-informed and very unfortunate. Though he admitted to not having the population figures of the North East region, he should have known better and speak responsibly as a former president of this country.

The entire size of the Upper East region is not up to the North East region, talk less of the six administrative districts of the Bawku traditional area. The Bawku traditional area is part and parcel of the Mamprugu kingdom, and under the traditional jurisdiction of the Nayiri, a decision to create a new region for Bawku should come from the Nayiri and not any other person.

Bawku is made of diverse ethnic groups including the Mamprusi, Bissas, Mossi, Yaansi, Kusasi, etc. and no tribe has such authority to sit in the comfort of their house to demand a region without proper consultation with the other ethnic groups.

We, the youth of Mamprugu and the North East region, are demanding a retraction and an unqualified apology from former president H.E. John Dramani Mahama and his campaign team for such demeaning comments about the North East region by comparing it to the six districts of the Bawku traditional area when, in actual sense, the North East region is bigger than the entire Upper East region.

...Signed...

Alhaji Abdul Majeed Inusah Badigamsira

inusahabdulmajeed11@gmail.com