Former Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria and Parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso East constituency, Mohammed Baba Jamal Abdul, has said he is driven by service to the people rather than personal gain as he vies for the Ayawaso East parliamentary seat.
According to him, his decision to contest the Ayawaso East parliamentary seat is guided by his desire to implement a vision for the area and be closer to the community he serves.
Speaking on TV3 and monitored by NewsDesksGH, on February 26, he explained why his diplomatic status, though more lucrative, would not allow him to serve his community as closely as he wanted.
“Everyone has his role and where he can perform better. I am a grassroots man, I deal with people, I live with them. I believe that the best way to serve them is to give them an image-changing representation in parliament.”
“I’m not motivated by material things, I’m motivated by human service. I had a vision for the place,” he added.
Addressing the passing of the late Ayawaso East Member of Parliament, Mahama Naser Toure, Baba Jamal expressed shock and described the timing as unexpected.
“Even though I wanted the seat, but not this way. It came too early for me and I didn’t expect this thing to happen to our brother, may his soul rest in peace. But there’s an opportunity for me to implement the vision I had for the area,” he said.
He explained that contesting the seat allows him to work directly with the community.
“I can serve them through Nigeria, but that would be further than coming closer to them and confronting their problems directly on the ground. That’s why I’m here.”
On his plans for the Ayawaso East community, Baba Jamal said human development is his top priority. He added that he wants to turn Nima into an industrial hub.
“This is an area where we need to invest in the human beings, facilitate them to acquire skills, facilitate them into the security agencies, facilitate them to learn and go to school,” he said.
He expressed concern that there is no secondary school in the community.
“This is one of the first projects I’m going to pursue. To have a secondary technical school dedicated to Nima and its environs,” he stated.
Baba Jamal linked the drug menace in the area to a lack of alternatives for young people.
“We did research and identified 35 skills; mason, carpentry and what have you. We want to identify these areas, attach children to these various places and let them learn trade. That’s the only way we can take a lot of them off the drug menace, that’s the way we can take them off the streets,” he said.
He also highlighted support for women in Nima, who drive majority of the local economy.
“75% of the economy of Nima depends on women. So we need to provide women with seed money, capital, interest-free loans,” he said.
He noted that he currently has over 400 women benefiting from loans he personally instituted.
Baba Jamal is currently the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso East constituency by-election, scheduled for March 3, 2026.
Following his primary victory, President John Dramani Mahama recalled him from his position as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria.
The recall came after allegations of voter inducement during the party primaries, including reports of distributing television sets and other items to delegates.
