Bawku, May 31, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama has appealed to supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Bawku in the Upper East Region to put the past behind them and unite to recapture the seat in 2008.

He said Bawku had been a the stronghold of the Danquah-Busia tradition until divisive elements set in to break up their ranks culminating in the Party's defeat in the parliamentary elections in 2004.

"But I will tell you today that until the NPP wins back the Bawku seat none of us here can claim personal victory. The party is larger than any single individual," He added.

Vice President Aliu made the appeal when addressing NPP functionaries and supporters at Bawku at the end of his five-day official tour of the Upper East Region.

He also inaugurated the Municipal Headquarters of the NPP at Bawku and inspected a 700 million-cedi wind pump project at Tampizua near Bawku.

The project being operated on pilot basis by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) pumps water into constructed reservoirs for both domestic and irrigation farming by the community.

Vice President Aliu said poverty reduction was one of the priorities of the NPP Government and urged them to take advantage of the irrigation facility to undertake crop farming all year round to improve their standard of living.

Reacting to a request by the community, Vice President Aliu said efforts would be made to construct a bridge on a tributary of the White Volta to link Tampizua to the Bawku Municipality during the raining season.

He noted that this would enable them transport their agricultural produce to the nearest market centre at Bawku. Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka, Paramount Chief of Bawku Traditional Area, appealed to Government to allocate more metro mass transit buses to the Municipality in view of its growing population when Vice President Aliu paid a courtesy call on him. 31 May 06