Politics of Thursday, 10 September 2015
Source: Today Newspaper
Presidential Staffer, Dr. Clement Apaak, has promised hope for the people of Builsa South Constituency of the Upper East region, especially the marginalised in the various communities in the constituency.
Dr. Apaak, who is contesting the NDC parliamentary primaries in Builsa South constituency, told this reporter in an interview via telephone the only thing he could do for his people was to offer them hope by ensuring that he teaches them how to fish.
According to him, his decision to have the chance to represent his constituents is to serve his people, who according to him, have been neglected for too long.
He noted that the NDC cannot continue to let Builsa South wallow in abject poverty hence the party’s decision to allow him to contest and win the constituency to improve the lot of the people in the area.
Dr. Apaak, who is a product of one of the world’s most prestigious universities, Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, Canada, was optimistic that he will sail through the NDC primaries.
That expected feat, he said, will see him contest the incumbent People’s National Convention (PNC) Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Alhassan Azong alongside other parliamentary candidates from the various opposition political parties.
Considering his track record and achievements both in and outside the country, Dr. Apaak, who was a former University of Ghana (UG) lecturer, claimed that he will be of great value to the Builsa South constituents more than the current sitting MP or any other person who might want to contest the seat in 2016.
“My brother (referring to this reporter), with my enormous experience and achievements, I think I deserve to represent the NDC in this constituency and not just only to win the seat but to increase the votes of my party’s flag-bearer, President John Dramani Mahama,” he said.
Dr. Apaak, who believes he was born to succeed, recounted his days in Vancouver, Canada, when he was reading his Doctorate Degree programme at SFU and subsequently became the first international student to be elected as a member of the university’s board of governors in the British Columbia.
That, coupled with how he used his charity organisation in Canada to raise funds to support refugees in Darfur, especially a young lady, who was brutally raped, he said, was enough to tell what he could do for the Builsa South when elected to represent them in Parliament.
He disclosed that over hundred delegates of the NDC in the constituency have endorsed his candidature, indicating their disappointment in the PNC incumbent MP.
“What my future opponents do not know is that the youth of Builsa South including the chiefs are all calling on me like the Biblical Moses to come and lead them to the Promised Land,” he claimed.
However, Dr. Apaak promised to conduct a clean campaign devoid of acrimony, lies and hate speech, and equally called on the other aspirants to do same.