No regrets for voting out Murtala Mohammed – Nanton voters

There is still anger among constituents of Nanton in the Northern Region, a year since they voted out their Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.

Voters described the controversial MP as “arrogant”, “rude” and “disrespectful” and said they regretted every step of his administration.

Others also accused the former MP for poor performance and unfulfilled promises and said they shall not return mandate to him for many years to come.

Kasapa News spoke to some voters in Nanton, Zoggu and Tampion and they all angrily said it will be extremely difficult to vote for Murtala again as Member of Parliament because of his personal behaviour and conducts.

From health, sanitation to economic empowerment and to electricity, residents of the constituency gave the former MP low grades and remarked he performed abysmally in all the sectors.

Murtala Mohammed according to the constituents failed to complete a dam rehabilitation project he started in eight communities. They claimed he was unable to connect the communities to the Tamale Rural Water Expansion project as promised, however report available to Kasapa News revealed two communities were beneficiaries.

One voter at Tampion said the former MP also failed to construct a modern hospital with helicopter landing site at Fazihini which he had promised in the early days of his turbulent administration.

“He used to speak to people without considering the age, no matter who you are, he just talk to you anyhow, so that led to his downfall”, Fuseini Naporo, a resident of Nanton who voted against Murtala told Kasapa News.

“He has divided the constituency into so many camps for that matter we didn’t have peace in this constituency when he was a Member of Parliament, so because of that we decided to vote him out in order for us to have out peace”, Rashid, an NDC voter at Nanton said.

Rashid added that “he was very very rude. He did not know how to approach people and he doesn’t calculate before speaking, just talk anyhow. Whether he comes back or not does not out concern. We just don’t want him to come but he comes back he would still suffer the same defeat”.

A voter at Zoggu also praised other constituents for voting Murtala out as MP saying he nearly strained relationship between the three biggest villages in the constituency.

“Anytime there was any election here, the whole community would be surrounded by soldiers. We did not have peace. We elected someone who wanted peace, someone who loved and respected others. Murtala nearly brought war between three communities here”, Rashid recounted.

Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed won the Nanton seat on the ticket of NDC in 2012. Then a rookie leader, incessant tensions over poor personal conducts led to deteriorated relationship between constituents including executives of his own party.

He lost more than 869 voters to his close rival, Alhaji Hardi Tufera who pulled more than eleven thousand votes to snatched the seat from the embattled former legislator.