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Politics of Friday, 12 August 2005

Source: Statesman

NDC defector assures NPP of victory in 2008

Nearly a month after defecting from the National Democratic Congress to the ruling New Patriotic Party, a former youth organiser at the Ketu South Constituency in the Volta Region who was instrumental in canvassing massive votes for the NDC in previous elections, has assured the NPP of winning the constituency and the Ketu North Constituency in the 2008 elections.

?I?m moving the whole constituency, including the NDC big guys in the area, to the NPP for victory in 2008. As a youth organiser, I have a large following in the area. I have the gift of convincing people. When I talk, people listen to me,? Seth Filson Dadzie, aka ?Setho,? affirmed in an interview with The Statesman in Accra yesterday.

Elucidating the motivation behind his defection to the NPP, Dadzie said that, he joined the party because its goal is the development of all parts of the country, and also due to the pleasant personality of President J.A Kufuor. ?My defection, I believe, is development-motivated. It is not based on stomach politics as claimed by my detractors in the NDC. We all need development. Now that there is a party in place whose agenda is development, we have to support the party to develop the area rather than waiting for somebody to become president before developing the area for us,? he said.

He said the soberness and gentle nature of President Kufuor has impressed him to throw his weight behind the President, adding: ?I love His Excellency the President, so I don?t know what will deter me from supporting such a personality.? He urged the people of the Ketu South and Ketu North Constituencies to join hands with the NPP in order to enable the party to develop the area.

Dadzie, who claimed he was the campaign manager of the MP for Ketu South, Albert Zigah, said though the NDC put up some projects in the area, they were not enough since the constituencies deserved more as the ?World Bank? of the party. ?Since the NPP came to power, a lot of development projects have been established. The government has constructed and tarred a road near the market in Denu. To win the votes of the people, the NPP must continue with the development of the area,? he said.

The former youth organiser, who is a former Special Assistant to Lt Col Charles Kofi Agbenaza (Rtd), the ex-NDC Volta Regional Minister, called on the people in the two constituencies not to tribalise issues concerning their development. ?It is high time Ketu South and Ketu North opened up since at the end of the day our aim is development. We should do away with ethnicity and create a conducive environment for development.?

Asked how he was received by the NPP in the constituency, he responded: ?I must be honest; I enjoyed a good welcome by the NPP. I was embraced. The [local] executives visit me almost every day at my house and we interact as brothers.? Dadzie added: ?Since I?m new in the NPP, I need to study the party before they can give me a specific role to play. I know a very effective role will be given me to deliver the constituency to the NPP in 2008.? He concluded by urging Voltarians in particular and Ghanaians as a whole to assist the government to achieve its development-oriented goals.

It will be recalled that the Daily Graphic reported the defection of Dadzie, an NDC youth organiser and one Alhaji Sahizu Bio from the Krachi District of the Volta Region, in its July 19 edition.