2 Ministers fight

A purportedly frosty relationship between the Minister of Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu, and the Minister of Lands and Forestry, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, is gradually trickling down to their supporters in the Northern Region.

The bad blood between the two National Democratic Congress (NDC) legislators reached a crescendo following an attack on the Lands and Forestry Minister by his constituents late last year.

Some disgruntled members of the party in the Tamale Central Constituency, it would be recalled, chased away the Member of Parliament for the constituency, assaulting one of his loyalists and his bodyguard in the process.

Supporters of the attacked minister then began pointing accusing fingers at Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South, for orchestrating the attack in order to make the former unpopular in the constituency in the wake of claims that the two were competing over popularity in the region.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted him, the Tamale South legislator, Haruna Iddrisu said he was not aware of any rift with the Lands and Forestry Minister and declined to comment further on the matter.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, on the other hand, claimed he had been told a couple of times about ‘some comments passed by Haruna Iddrisu, but was quick to add that he personally did not see that as a rift.

He appealed to the Trades and Industry Minister, whom he described as a brother, to confront him on issues he was displeased with, rather than excite his anger.

According to him, both of them had supported each other very well in the past, but it was unfortunate things had now turned out this way.

According to information gathered by DAILY GUIDE, the Trade and Industry Minister had extended his generosity to constituents within Tamale Central and was always doling out huge sums of money to them each time he was in the region.

There were claims that he was distributing motorbikes to constituents as well, making him the toast of party members in the region.

His open show of generosity, as against the “stingy” Lands Minister, infuriated party supporters who wondered why the latter was allegedly tight-fisted and only “gave” to those close to him.

This was said to have been the genesis of the confusion between the two, with some party members describing Haruna Iddrisu as “an MP for the people”.

They explained that while Haruna Iddrisu was always with the people and giving them some “coins”, Inusah Fuseini only sat in Accra and did what he pleased.

The distinction between the two, some party supporters claimed, was that Haruna builds people around him, but the same could not be said about Inusah Fuseini – the reason foot soldiers were baying for his blood.

What was said to have allegedly further heightened animosity between supporters of the two were claims that Haruna Iddrisu had ventured into the Tamale Central Constituency to make the current MP unpopular.

This, it was alleged, was aimed at paving the way for Hannan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, the Mayor of Tamale and a perceived darling boy of the Trades and Industry Minister, to contest the seat in 2016.

Supporters of the two ministers took to various media platforms at the beginning of the week to lambast each other.

Several unprintable words were used on social media in this respect though close confidants denied any acrimony between them, claiming it was a move to bring about division in the party.

Meanwhile, the Tamale Mayor, Hannan Gundadow has told DAILY GUIDE he would not be swayed by what is being bandied about, indicating that his responsibility is to serve the people of the metropolis, as assigned him by the President.

Mr. Gundado added that he did not need the backing of anyone to become an MP, since he also stands tall in the political landscape in the region.

Regional Executives of the party had since declined to comment on the matter, claiming that it had not come to their notice.