According to Dumelo, the MP's action speaks of her failure and as much as she tries, she will not be able to rescue herself from being defeated on December 7.
“Last week Saturday, I went to wear my boots and entered the water. Somebody too came and wore her boots with her Kaba and slit in the water. If she likes, she should even swim in the water you (she) will not win the election.
They stopped me from doing that work, but they cannot stop us from victory. They stopped me from fixing the drain in West Legon but they cannot stop us from victory. The seat is for us and we are taking the seat,” he declared to a gathering of party faithful and sympathizers on Sunday, October 18, 2020, when he launched his campaign at the Bawaleshi School Park.
The Ayawaso West Wuogon race will arguably be the most interesting one in the parliamentary elections come December 7.
Long before he gained his party’s nomination, John Dumelo of the National Democratic Congress gave a strong signal to the incumbent, Lydia Alhassan of the New Patriotic Party, of his intention to be the opponent that will give her a run for her money.
As part of his way of reaching out to the people of Ayawaso West, John Dumelo some months back hired excavators to dredge some drains in the West Legon area due to the problems faced by residents in that area whenever there is heavy rainfall.
He was, however, reported to have been asked to stop the dredging by the Ayawaso Municipal Assembly pending the granting of a permit by the Assembly. The action by the Assembly was interpreted by many as being politically motivated.
Months down the line when it rained heavily last week, some parts of the West Legon area and other areas of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency were heavily flooded.
Some residents in the area, as well as the NDC parliamentary candidate, linked the flooding to the refusal of the Assembly to allow the dredging exercise and accused the assembly of doing so on political grounds.
Minutes after the rain had stopped last Saturday, John Dumelo was seen in pictures and videos shared on social media walking through the floodwaters visiting some residents to find out how they had been affected by the rain and later in the day, the same was seen of the Member of Parliament, Lydia Alhassan.
Speaking during his campaign launch on Sunday, Mr. Dumelo who repeated his confidence in winning the Ayawso West race, indicated that the many social interventions he has undertaken in the constituency are only a prelude to what he intends to do for the people as a member of parliament.
“Last year when I won the primaries I got to work and I can confidently tell you that things are happening in Ayawaso West Wuogon. We are sharing laptops, not that when we come, we will share, we are already sharing laptops. We are already creating jobs, they claim that One District One Factory, I don’t see any factories in Ayawaso West Wuogon, I will make that factory and produce that factory in Ayawos West Wuogon.
You cannot come and lie to us that you will do the thing when you are not doing the thing. I am here to do it and I will do it. I have started doing it already. Last week I started or inaugurated my mushroom farming, that is what we are going to implement to create a factory in Ayawaso west. So that we can create jobs for everybody,” he said.
John Dumelo addressing his campaing launch