Ayariga creates scene at PNC congress

Over the weekend, a somewhat amusing political drama was staged at the Upper East regional congress of the PNC in Bolgatanga when the 2012 presidential candidate of the party, Dr Ayariga, had a heated argument with organisers of the congress and the four-time presidential candidate, Dr Edward Mahama, over what he (Dr Ayariga) termed as a breach of protocol.

A total of 134 PNC delegates across the 15 constituencies of the Upper East Region converged in Bolgatanga on Saturday to elect their regional executives for the party ahead of the 2016 general election.

During the event, Dr Hassan Ayariga was asked by the organisers to be the first to deliver his speech before Dr Edward Nasigri Mahama comes in.

This arrangement, according to the organisers, did not go down well with Dr Ayariga who insisted he should be the last person to address the delegates as protocol demands.

However, Dr Mahama also insisted on sticking to the arrangement of the organisers.

After some minutes of verbal exchanges and clear display of disrespect for each other, the chairman of the congress, George Akundikiya intervened and asked the microphone to be given to Dr Ayariga to address the delegates.

Dr Ayariga called on the delegates to give him another chance to try his luck at winning the presidential election 2016.

He stated that politics is no longer for the older generation, but for the youth, and thinks it would be appropriate for Dr Mahama to step down and rather endorse him (Dr Ayariga).

Only three regional executive positions were contested for, the incumbent chairman, Baba Mohammed, was retained.

Albert Adongo was elected as the new regional secretary, whilst Haruna Ayuuba was elected as the regional organiser.