NR NPP defers Alhaji Zaruk's matter to NEC after 'refusal' to sign form

The Northern Regional Secretariat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has referred the matter of Alhaji Ahmed Zaruk Nuhu's alleged irregularities in his nomination form to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

The party said Alhaji Zaruk, who is contesting the incumbent MP for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, refused to sign the form despite "efforts to rectify the issues and the Vetting Committee’s leniency in extending the nomination period for the irregularities to be rectified".

In a statement signed by Prof Hudu Zakaria, the Northern Regional Secretary of the NPP, the party emphasized that it takes the matter seriously and upholds the integrity and fairness of the electoral process.

Explaining the irregularities in Alhaji Zaruk's form, the statement said his form had several irregularities, including incorrect entry of date of birth, voter ID number, and an unsigned Section B, which it noted was crucial as it contained the contractual undertakings restraining Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate from contesting the 2024 Elections as Independent candidate or on the ticket of any other party.

It claimed that "When the Constituency Research and Elections Officer drew his attention to the errors as the form was being submitted at the constituency office, he reluctantly corrected the wrong entries of the date of birth and the voter ID number and refused to sign the contractual undertakings section. As a result, the constituency office could not process his nomination form and deferred it to the region."

It accused the Parliamentary Aspirant of later organizing party people to vandalize the party constituency office in Bimbilla when the Vetting list was published without his name -even though a decision was still pending on his 'refusal' to sign the contractual undertakings.


Background

Alhaji Ahmed Zaruk 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 claimed the NPP chairman and some other executives of the party including the Bimbilla Constituency Chairman and Secretary of the party 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 the party’s primaries.

Mr Zaruk believes the alleged machinations and manipulations are part of a plot to allow the incumbent MP who is also the Minister of Defense to go unopposed.

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 and not because he actually did not complete the form, in other for the Vetting Committee to pass himself contest the election.

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 plot 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”.