The Northern Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yussif Danjimah, has attributed the party’s poor showing in the region during the 2024 parliamentary elections to the neglect of advice from their Regional Chairman, Mohammed Bantima Adam Samba.
Speaking exclusively on Radio Tamale’s Bugum Beni Drive Time programme on Wednesday, July 23, Mr. Danjimah said the decision to ignore Chairman Samba’s call to avoid parliamentary primaries in certain constituencies significantly contributed to the party’s defeat in key strongholds.
All the seats Chairman Samba told us not to hold parliamentary primaries, and we refused, have gone to the NDC,” Danjimah lamented. “You remember when the regional Chairman advised us against such contests?
Using Zabzugu as a case in point, he revealed that the NPP lost the seat by a margin of fewer than 500 votes—an outcome he blamed on internal party divisions triggered by the parliamentary primaries.
The incumbent’s loss in the primaries sparked ethnic tensions that cost us the seat. Now something we had is gone,” he emphasised. “Look at Yendi. Look at Mion. Have you seen them?
Despite the losses, Mr. Danjimah commended the six MPs who retained their seats in the region, describing them as “true fighters” who managed to win under difficult political circumstances, including public dissatisfaction with the government and internal party challenges.
The regional party went into the 2024 elections with nine parliamentary seats but emerged with only six. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) captured 11 seats, while one seat was claimed by an independent candidate.
In 2023, Chairman Samba had openly advocated for the party’s sitting MPs to be declared unopposed, arguing on Tamale-based Majority Radio that uncontested primaries would conserve party resources, prevent divisions, and promote unity going into the general elections.
If I had my way, I would have preferred we didn’t contest our sitting MPs,” Samba said at the time. “That would have given us time and space to heal internal cracks and face the general elections with a united front.
However, his suggestion was met with stiff resistance from some party members, who alleged that the chairman’s call was an attempt to shield weak MPs from competition.
The 2024 outcome has reignited internal debates within the NPP in the Northern Region, with many now questioning whether a different approach could have changed the party’s electoral fortunes.
Source: Radio Tamale
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