Ursula files nomination

MS Ursula Owusu, a gender advocate and a lawyer has submitted her parliamentary nomination forms to the Ablekuma South Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) amidst funfair.
Supporters, including ‘Ursula Fan Club’ members in their T-shirts from Takoradi and Kumasi and Dansoman as well as some NPP members all seated in dozens of vehicles embarked on a procession for about two and half hours in the constituency.
They danced to brass band music before they joined others who were also dancing to tunes provided by spinners at the constituency office near the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where the aspirant presented her forms to the constituency executive committee, chaired by Mr Henry Addy.
Addressing the supporters and the media, Ms Owusu, who was a Vice President of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Int) described the occasion as her official launch of her campaign to regain the seat which was virtually stolen from the NPP.
The other four male aspirants are Messrs Charles Biney, Bright Samuel Osei-Tumi, Ben Brown and Derrick Nkansah.
Ms Owusu noted that the party needed a strong-willed personality who was knowledgeable, vocal and could combine all these virtues with her skills of advocacy to win the seat and also represent the aspirations of the constituents in Parliament.
“My aim is to reclaim the seat. We just don’t want power. We in the NPP are striving to win the 2012 elections to be able to bring relief to the people of Ghana who are going through unbearable hardship due to the bad policies and programmes of the Mills Administration,” she added.
She expressed worry about the increasing rate at which the NDC administration had developed a penchant for rushing to cut sod for construction of projects but failing to complete such projects and cited the Dansoman main road as one of the examples.
She explained that although the sod had been cut close to two years for the construction of the Dansoman main road and other projects in the constituency, because they have failed to continue with the construction, people living close to such projects had to put up with the delay and inhale the dust from the construction sites.
Ms Owusu took a swipe at the NDC government for again paying lip service to their manifesto of offering 40 per cent of appointing positions to women and added that the NPP had shown that it was committed to increasing women participation in active political office, hence, the decision to reduce all filing fees by 50 per cent for women.
She said that the move by the NPP was a clear indication that the party wanted more women in Parliament and urged the delegates to the April 30 primaries to elect women of substance to lead the party to recapture the seat from the NDC.
She urged the delegates not to be influenced by money but vote for a candidate who would be appealing to other electorate in the area for the party to win the seat and also increase the chances of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to win the presidential elections.
She promised to continue with her issue-based campaign and not to attack any of the aspirants and their supporters and urged them to also do same for the unity of the party.
Before unveiling a huge portrait of the aspirant, Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, a leading member of the party, described Ms Owusu as the most appropriate candidate for the constituency because she was a hardworking person who had been with the party since 1992 and would not turn her back on the constituents, especially the NPP members when she was given the nod.
He said after the demise of the former MP for the area, Ms Theresa Tagoe, it was incumbent on the delegates to vote for a woman who possessed similar qualities to be able to win the seat and “that is the reason why I am recommending Ursula to you. She has been tried and tested”
He said the party lost the Ablekuma South seat and the presidential seat because the NDC was able to use threats and intimidation and that was the reason why the flag bearer had urged the party members to emulate the examples of their founding fathers by going to the extent of dying to ensure that the will of the people prevailed and democracy became the winner.
Ms Gloria Akufu, a former Minister of Aviation in the Kufuor Administration said the aspirant had been able to develop international connections which put her in a proper position to be able to assist the constituency when she is given the nod.