Gabriel K. Lemboe Samora, an aspirant for the Oti Regional Chairmanship of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has pledged to consolidate the party’s electoral dominance in the region and make it a safe political stronghold ahead of the 2028 general elections.
He said his vision was to build on the party’s electoral gains, strengthen its internal structures and unite members to secure all nine parliamentary seats while improving its presidential election performance.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Press, Mr. Samora said his ambition was informed by years of experience in party organisation and leadership, having served at the branch, constituency and regional levels. He said his current ambition is to ensure that the Oti Region remains a stronghold of the NDC.
“Ultimately, we want to make the Oti Region a very safe political stronghold for the NDC,” he stated.
Outlining his vision for the regional chairmanship, Mr. Samora said his agenda would be anchored on four key principles: Reflect, Reorganise, Reconcile and Move Forward.
He explained that the first step would involve assessing the party’s performance, identifying achievements and shortcomings, and developing strategies to address areas requiring improvement.
On reorganisation, he said the party needed to strengthen its structures because several members had assumed government positions following the NDC’s return to power.
He argued that this development made it necessary to reorganise the party’s ranks and mobilise members at all levels ahead of the 2028 elections.
Mr Samora also emphasised reconciliation, describing unity among party members as essential to achieving their collective political objectives.
He noted that disagreements and misunderstandings were sometimes inevitable after electoral contests but insisted that such differences must be resolved to enable members to work together.
“It is important that we reconcile, put our house in order and move forward together to achieve our set targets,” he said.
Looking ahead to the 2028 general elections, Mr. Samora said his immediate electoral priority would be to retain all nine parliamentary seats in the Oti Region while increasing the NDC’s presidential vote margin.
He said the party would support whichever candidate emerged as its presidential flagbearer and work collectively to sustain the gains made in previous elections.
He also identified the reduction of rejected ballots as another important area requiring attention.
According to him, the region recorded 10,424 rejected ballots in the 2020 elections, a figure he said the party’s organisational efforts helped reduce to approximately 8,600 in the subsequent elections.
He said further voter education and grassroots mobilisation would be necessary to reduce the number of rejected ballots and improve the party’s electoral performance.
Beyond electoral victories, the chairmanship aspirant said he intended to deepen internal democracy and strengthen party structures from the branch level through the constituency and regional levels to the national level.
He also pledged to promote wider consultations with party stakeholders, including the Council of Elders and other established structures.
Mr. Samora stressed the importance of recognising the contributions of party members who had worked to build the NDC, adding that they should be encouraged to remain actively involved in its development.
He said an inclusive leadership approach would be central to building a united and formidable regional organisation capable of delivering the party’s targets in 2028.
Mr. Samora is seeking to succeed the current Regional Chairman, Honourable John Kwadwo Gyapong, who is also the Oti Regional Minister.
He expressed confidence that his experience in party organisation, regional administration and election campaign coordination had prepared him to lead the party into its next electoral cycle.