On behalf of the entire Dombo family, l extend our humble greetings to the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and the entire leadership at all levels of the New Patriotic Party, both past and present.
As a family that has been part of the root and fabric of the great historic tradition of the founding of the United Party tradition, through to the Progress Party (PP), the Popular Front Party (PFP) and now the New Patriotic Party, the Dombo faction has always demonstrated their unflinching and unwavering loyalty to our historic United Party tradition.
From the historic journey and constructive engagement of our great Patriach, Chief Simon Diedong Dombo (Chief S D. Dombo), in the politics of what brought our country Ghana, into being today, we his offspring, are in no doubt or elusion whatsoever, that our great Patriarch, didn’t achieve those heroics as a statesman, on his own or as an individual whose qualities stood out distinct and unique from those of his northern peers and brethren at the time.
The leadership role of our great Patriach emerged as a result of the unity and totality of support of his entire northern brethren at the time, of which one Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, of blessed memory, was one of them. Some of these brethren of our Patriach, we believe, might have had to subdue their own personal ambitions at the time, for the sake of a common cause, in order to support their senior brother to assume the leadership mantle at the time.
Brethren of this our great UP tradition, we of the Dombo family, will want to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation, first and foremost to all the northern political forerunners, like in the persons of and not exclusive or in any order of preference, Alhaji Yakubu Tali, Alhaji B.K. Adama, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, Chief Jatoe Kaleo, Chief Lawyer Abeifa Karbo, H E Dr. Hilla Liman, (President of the Third Republic), all of blessed memory and many other unsung heroes of the political struggles of the then Northern Territories. These and many others, at the time, all threw their singular united and unwavering support behind our father and Patriach, Chief SD Dombo to lead the then Northern People Party, until the enactment of ADA 1957, (CA 38).
It is for the sacrifices of these great fellow Northern compatriots and Patriachal political fathers that the name Dombo had the privilege of being the name used as among the founding fathers of the United Party tradition. We the decendants of the Chief SD Dombo Patriachal line, wish to take this opportunity to make this humble admission and also to express our deep sense of belonging and appreciation and to acknowledge all of our Northern decent, who have been part of making possible this history of the United Party that has come to stay for ever.
Brethren of our great political tradition, since the formation of the United Party as a result of the Avoidance of Discrimination Act (ADA) 1957 (C.A. 38), we on this side of the tradition, for the sake of unity of our tradition, have always thrown our support behind whoever gets elected at our presidential primaries. This is what democracy entails and as we of this tradition stand firm and hold high these values, we should be the last to want to ask for any favours that may in one way or the other, diminish these our credentials.
However, as the old adage goes, if a family is one, then they should demonstrate that in the manner they revolve the cleaning of the soup bowl. In making this our humble appeal, it is not about entitlement or making a premature call for ‘our turn’. It is a humble plea and an appeal to the rank and file at all levels of our party, to support the Presidential primaries bid of H.E. the Vice President, Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia.
We are making this plea for the first time since the marriage that brought forth the UP tradition. It is a national voluntary call, that transcends ethnic or tribal boundaries. It is not based on any ethnocentrism or sense of entitlement but on grounds of every healthy marriage and mutual co-existence, a mutuality that pre-supposes and disposes of mutual respect.
In the Presidential primaries of 2007, a son of Northern Ghana extraction, in the person of HE Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and thus, representing the Dombo faction of our great tradition, who had loyally served as a deputy to then President J.A. Kuffuor, among many others, contested but lost to our current President of the Republic of Ghana, HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
For reasons of not being seen as seeking entitlement, we of this faction of our great tradition, always bury our heads in the sand. We however feel that this time around, we should appeal to the sympathy of our great party faithful and loyalists, to rally behind the second gentleman of the land, who has demonstrated the abilities to capably succeed HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and to lead us into winning the 2024 general elections.
Once again, we are grateful to you all and appreciate and acknowledge the role everyone played in getting our political tradition to where we are today. Undeniably, it has been a long and tedious political journey from the 1950s to now, but has all been made possible by our common understanding and unity. Nothing is impossible. Thank you.
Naa Tikang Diedong Dombo
Duori Naa