MINISTER PRESENTS ITEMS TO NDEC ACCIDENT VICTIMS (PAGE 13)

THE Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, has, in a goodwill gesture, presented cash and a quantity of food items to supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who were involved in an accident in Tamale at the weekend.
The minister, who led members of the Northern Regional Co-ordinating Council to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, where the victims were on admission, donated GH¢500, two bags of rice and other food items.
Alhaji Idris wished the victims a speedy recovery and expressed his condolences to the family of 19-year-old Ms Suweibatu who lost her life in the accident.
He, however, expressed grave concern about the frequency of accidents anytime a high profile political figure, particularly from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the NDC was coming into the region.
The minister, therefore, charged members of the inter-party advisory committee in the region, the police and other stakeholders to intensify their campaigns on incident-free political activities in the area.
‘‘As the period for the general election is fast approaching with the intensification of campaigns by the respective political parties, there is the urgent need to sensitise the people, especially the youth to exercise maximum restraint in spite of their exuberance,’’ Alhaji Idris cautioned.
The accident occurred last Saturday afternoon near Lamashegu, a suburb of Tamale, when the driver of a KIA truck in which the victims were travelling, lost control of the steering wheel.
They were among hundreds of NDC supporters who were on their way to Datoyili on the Tamale-Kumasi road to welcome the running mate of the NDC, Mr John Mahama, into the metropolis to begin his three-day campaign of the Northern Region.
One person died and many others sustained various degrees of injury. Some have since been treated and discharged.
A surgeon at the Tamale Hospital, Dr Sammy Isharabin, who briefed the minister and his entourage, said one of the victims, Fuseini Musah, who was in coma with multiple knee injuries since the accident occurred, was now responding to treatment.
He said the hospital authorities were also observing the conditions of the other victims and would not hesitate to recommend the transfer of any patient whose situation needed special attention.
In a related development, the Northern Regional MTTU Commander, ASP Nana Kumi, said the driver of the KIA truck was one of the victims on admission.
He said some of the victims who escaped unhurt, rather towed the vehicle to a mechanic’s shop as a cover-up.
Mr Kumi indicated that executive of the NDC had since reported the accident to the police, and that they were now conducting investigations into its cause.