Bimbilla: Zaruk ‘fingers’ Chairman Samba, others in plots to disqualify him from contesting NPP primaries

An Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bimbilla constituency of the Northern Region, Ahmed Zaruk has accused the Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mohammed Bantima Samba and some other executives of the party of plotting to get him disqualified from contesting in the January 27 parliamentary primaries of the party.
He claims the NPP chairman and some other executives including the Bimbilla Constituency Chairman and Secretary are deliberately frustrating the filing process for him, despite the decision of the chairman of the Vetting Committee of the party to allow him contest incumbent Dominic Nitiwul at the party’s primaries.
Mr Zaruk believes the alleged machinations and manipulations are part of a ploy to allow the incumbent MP who is also the Minister of Defense to go unopposed.
The Bimbilla Constituency office of the party was vandalized by angry NPP youth last week, after news broke that the Regional Secretary had called Mr Zaruk to inform him that his nomination form was rejected by the party because he had failed to fill some vital portions of the document.


The NPP General Secretary later intervened and Mr Zaruk was allowed to be vetted.
Appearing before the committee, Mr Zaruk shockingly admitted to not completing his form, albeit not deliberate – contrary to the report of the constituency Secretary which had claimed that he “refused” to complete filling the form, although he was reached out to do so.
His admission led to heated confrontation between him and the Regional Chairman before the Chairman of the Committee ruled that he be made to complete the form and allowed to contest in the primaries.
That has not happened.
A visibly angry Mr Zaruk told Journalists in Tamale on Sunday that he only admitted to not completing the form because the party’s Council of Elders advised him to do so, in other for the Vetting Committee to pass him to contest the election and end the acrimony.
He said that he was however shocked that after his admission, Chairman Samba allegedly turned around to embarrass him.

Mr Zaruk does not understand why Chairman Samba and some other executives of the party want him to fill the form in Bimbilla when the Chairman of the Vetting Committee had ruled that he be made to sign it in Tamale.
He believes it is yet another ploy in their bid to get him disqualified, and that he was only going to complete the filling of the form in Tamale because “people are very angry with some of the executives and so anything can happen if same people are in Bimbilla”.
The Parliamentary Aspirant warned that any attempts to impose the incumbent MP on the party could lead the NPP to lose the seat in the December Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.

Meanwhile a 5pm ultimatum Mr Zaruk gave the party leadership on Sunday has expired.

Sources close to him say he is waiting to see if his name would be included in the party's final list of aspirants before taking his next line of action - which the sources hint would likely be him going Independent.