THE embattled Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Adama Mahama Walvis, has described the action by some disgruntled National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth in Yendi last weekend as most unfortunate.
“A section of the group who are bent on tarnishing my image and making my work difficult is behind it all but indeed I consider these developments as challenges and an occupational hazard,” he opined.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Tamale where he is seeking refuge following threats on his life by some irate party youth in Yendi last Saturday, Mr Walvis also stated that the youth might be venting their anger on him following the unavailability of job opportunities in the area at the moment.
“I urge them to exercise restraint in the face of these challenges as efforts are being made to engage them. At the moment, contracts have been awarded and soon more job opportunities would be created for the people in the area,” he stated.
The wind shield of an NDC pick-up vehicle that was being driven by the constituency party chairman, Alhaji Salifu Sabah, was smashed in the said disturbances by the youth.
That was after the chairman had failed to persuade the angry youth to rescind their decision not to allow the Yendi MCE to change the venue or attend a meeting with the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Mabengba, and some party and district chief executives from the eastern corridor of the region in Yendi.
They accused the MCE of being incompetent and lacking vision in championing the cause of the party and the government in the area, adding that they had lost confidence in him because he had also lost faith in the party.
Mr Walvis, however, denied all the allegations levelled against him and stated that he had been a committed member of the NDC since its formation.
He added that he was very focused in his drive to strengthen the structures of the party and also ensure the accelerated development of the district.
The MCE further explained the reasons behind his decision to change the venue of the meeting to his residence instead of the community centre.
According to him, the day of the said meeting coincided with the eighth anniversary of the murder of the Ya-Na.
“Since the centre was located in the middle of the town, there were fears that there could be a possible clash between the supporters of the late Ya-Na, who were in black and red apparels and those opposed to the celebration,” the MCE stated.
Mr Walvis said the decision was arrived at after consultations with the party executives, adding “I do not engage in unilateral decisions as I have always consulted the executives in all matters.”
He expressed his preparedness to dialogue with anybody who had any grievance against his administration, pointing out that taking the law into their own hands was not the solution.
On the said meeting, the northern regional secretary of the NDC, Alhaji Umar Issifu Alhassan, said it eventually came off successfully at the community centre, and that it formed part of an ongoing nation-wide outreach programme of the party.
He said among the issues they deliberated on were the challenges and the way forward for the party in the area.
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