Minister for Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has appealed to the rank and file of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region to unite for victory in the December 7 elections.

Speaking to the media during a tour to observe the parliamentary primaries of the party in the Northern Region, Alhaji Awal urged party members to rally around the elected parliamentary candidates to retain the seats for the party.

“We want to appeal to our people to conduct the process in peace so that after this we will marshal and do the real fight. The real fight is in December, so we want to appeal to our chiefs, our elders, our youth and our women to rally behind whoever has been elected today so that in December he or she will be an MP,” he appealed.

The Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mohammed Bantima Samba, who was in the company of the minister, praised members of the NPP for the peaceful conduct of the primaries.

He said the party elected competent parliamentary candidates in the orphan constituencies last year, and expressed optimism that the NPP will annex those seats from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in December. At least four incumbent MPs of the NPP in the Northern Region will not return to parliament in 2021.

They include Alhaji Wahab Suhuyini Wumbei, MP for Tolon, and Charles Bintim, MP for Saboba, who lost in the parliamentary primaries on Saturday. The Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and MP for Yendi, Alhaji Mohammed Habibu Tijani, did not seek re-election.

Also, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and MP for Gushegu, Dr Ziblim Barri Iddi, withdrew from the race barely a week to the parliamentary primaries of the party.