Her resignation letter, dated 31st January, 2025, was addressed to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President and copied to the Secretary to the President. It was officially received on 4th February, 2025, by the Chief of Staff.

According to her, the appointment was a privilege to serve and contribute to the growth and success of MASLOC.

However, she says it is the right moment for her to step down and allow new leadership to guide the organisation.

“I am writing to formally resign from my position as Chief Executive Officer of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre with immediate effect. Over the years, it has been a privilege to serve and contribute to the growth and success of MASLOC. However, I believe this is the right moment for me to step down and allow new leadership to guide the organisation,” part of the letter read.

The former NPP Parliamentary Aspirant for the Yendi constituency expressed her profound gratitude to the Board, Management, and Staff of MASLOC for the support and collaboration she enjoyed from them over the years.

“I am deeply grateful for the support and collaboration I have received from the Board, Management, and our talented Staff. I remain confident in the continued success of MASLOC and will do everything possible during this transition period to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities,” it added.

Hajia Abibata wished the Centre, its employees, and stakeholders all the best and expressed confidence that they would work hard to sustain what they accomplished together.

Hajia Abibata served as CEO for eight years, after previously serving as Deputy CEO under President Nana Akufo-Addo.

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Read the full letter below:

She is also requesting NEC to prohibit the incumbent MP, Farouk Aliu Mahama from holding himself as the parliamentary candidate-elect.

Hajia Abibata, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) re-contested Mr Mahama after losing in 2020.

The just-ended election was generally smooth except for the confusion that broke out during the counting process with ballots destroyed and properties vandalised.

In a petition, she claims that some party officers conspired with Mr Mahama to rig the elections, thereby declaring him as the winner and has called for sanctions to be imposed.

“The key actors in the ploy included Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman), Alhaji Salifu Rashid C.O.P., the Northern Regional Organiser, Alhaji YussifToyibu, the Regional Treasurer, Mr. Fusheini Bawah Kpana, the regional Research and Elections Officer, Mr. Mohammed Adam Bantima Samba, the Northern Regional Chairman, some members of the Party Elections Committee, some officers of the Electoral Commission and the Security Service,” the petition read in parts.

In view of this, she has asked the party to order for fresh elections to be conducted and supervised by competent, independent, and sincere Electoral Commission, party and security officers.

Meanwhile, the EC has said no winner was declared in the polls despite the incumbent’s insistence of being the victor.

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Read below the petition by Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama

PETITION OVER THE CONDUCT OF THE 2024 NPP PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES IN THE YENDI CONSTITUENCY

Respectfully, I write to bring the following critical issues concerning the chaotic conduct of the failed New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held on Saturday, the 27th of January 2024 at the Yendi Senior High School for your urgent attention and redress.

By the Parliamentary Primaries Protocols for Incumbent Members of Parliament of the NPP issued by the Party on the 22nd of January 2024 with reference number NPP/HQ/PR/2024/01/22/GS/PP, the Party mandated the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to supervise the Parliamentary Primaries and granted the Commission with the full responsibility for ensuring transparent, free and fair elections.

That by the same protocols, the Party further prohibited party officials, government appointees, and other persons from acting in contravention of the Electoral Commission and the Guidelines referred supra.
The Yendi Constituency Parliamentary Primaries had two contestants – Hon. Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), and Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama (Petitioner herein).

There appears to be a grand ploy by some officers of the party to conspire with election officers and the incumbent MP to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent MP against the established democratic tradition of our great party, and the wishes of the delegates and the members of the party in Yendi.

The key actors in the ploy included Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman), Alhaji Salifu Rashid C.O.P., the Northern Regional Organiser, Alhaji YussifToyibu, the Regional Treasurer, Mr. Fusheini Bawah Kpana, the regional Research and Elections Officer, Mr. Mohammed Adam Bantima Samba, the Northern Regional Chairman, some members of the Party Elections Committee, some officers of the Electoral Commission and the Security Service.

On the Election Day, Saturday, 27th January 2024, voting started freely, fairly, and transparently. Voting ended at around 12:30 pm and they started sorting ballots at 2PM.

A cursory look at the sorted and compiled ballot papers for each aspirant showed that I obtained the highest number of votes and was anticipating a declaration to that effect after due process had been complied with.
It must be noted that the Regional and National Officers who had a grand agenda to rig the elections massed up at the collation to block our views and cover up their ploy.

In pursuit of the grand agenda to rig the elections, an officer of the EC (Regional Storekeeper) tainted his fingers with indelible ink and was touching the sorted ballots (yet to be counted) in favour of me to taint them with a malicious intention of having them compromised and reclassified as rejected ballots.

Further, whilst the counting of the ballots of Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama was ongoing, the same EC Officer, picked the sorted, yet-to-be-counted ballots papers in favour of me and pocketed them. However, luck alluded him and he was caught red-handed.

A member of my team went to complain to the Police and get the pocketed ballots removed from the pocket of the said EC Officer.

The ink pad used to taint my valid votes was also retrieved. Despite the obstruction by some party officers at the scene, the pocketed ballot papers were also retrieved.

By this time, ballots counted in favour of the incumbent MP, Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama were around 213 with approximately less than 100 ballots yet to be counted in his favour.

Sensing the danger that the incumbent MP was losing the elections, the supporters of the MP fetched my uncounted ballots, scattered them, and destroyed a significant number of them.

This act infuriated my supporters who also picked the counted and uncounted ballots of the MP and scattered same with some destroyed.

The ballot papers were all scattered; a significant number were destroyed, and some were taken away from the scene. The EC did not have the ballot papers to re-sort or count. Appendices A, B, C, D, E, F and G are videos and pictorial evidence of destruction of uncounted ballots.

It was practically impossible for valid votes or ballot papers to be identified or re-sorted and counted as some party members made away with them and some were destroyed. The EC lost control of the election process and materials were damaged.

The Electoral Commission team from Yendi to conduct the elections were; The Municipal EC Director (Madam Millicent), Iddrisu Yussif (Returning Officer), Issah Mohammed Saani (Name Reference List Officer), Alhassan Osman (Ballot Issuer) and other two supporting staff.

The Electoral commission also brought the EC Directors from Saboba and Kpandai, a deputy director from Sagnarigu district, Regional Technician and Regional Stores who worked hand-in-hand with the Yendi EC team.

Meanwhile all elections in Yendi Constituency including the recent NPP Presidential Primaries were conducted by only the team without any problems.

The EC officer (Regional Stores) who maliciously destroyed and pocketed some valid votes sorted in my favour was arrested amid the chaos and sent to the Yendi Police Station.

The Divisional Police Commander for Yendi Division was asked to man the main gate which is far from the elections centre whiles the Regional Police Commander and his team took over the elections centre.

Meanwhile all previous elections including the recent NPP Presidential Primaries were all manned by the Divisional Police Commander and his team and it was very successful.

I went to the Yendi Police Station to make an official complaint about the situation in anticipation that the relevant bodies would take up the matter and deal with the culprits whose actions resulted in the chaos.

Later in the night, the information I received confirmed that the 3rd National Vice Chairman, the Northern Regional Chairman, the Northern Regional Organizer, the incumbent MP, the Regional and Divisional Police Commanders, and the EC Officers held a meeting at the Yendi Police Station purporting to resolve the matter.

Neither I nor my agents were invited to the meeting. Some of my supporters who got a hint of the information followed up at the Police Station and were denied access to the meeting by the Police Officers.

The failure of the Police, the EC Officers, National and Regional Party Officers to invite me or allow my agents access to the meeting purporting to resolve the issue was in clear violation of the rules of natural justice. Consequently, any decision arising thereof which affects my interest ought to be declared invalid and of no effect.

On the night of 27th of January, 2024, we saw a video taken at the Yendi Police Station in which the 3rd National Vice Chairman, Alhaji Masawudu Osman in the company of the Northern Regional Chairman and his team, and some Constituency Executives, purportedly declared Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama as the winner without the appropriate authority, or recourse to any counting of ballots or any due process of law, and in clear violation of the guidelines issued by the party on the 22nd of January 2024.

In view of the foregoing, I respectfully request the National Executive Committee to: a) Hold that NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held in Yendi on the 27th of January 2024 were tainted with substantial irregularities, violations, infractions and therefore lost its validity.

(b) Declare that the 2024 NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held in Yendi on the 27th of January 2024 as null, void and of no effect whatsoever.

(c) Declare that under the Parliamentary Primaries Protocols for Incumbent Members of Parliament of the NPP issued on the 22nd of January 2024 with reference number NPP/HQ/PR/2024/01/22/GS/PP, the only body mandated to conduct and declare results of the 2024 Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency is the Electoral Commission of Ghana.

(d) Declare that neither the 3rd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Masawudu Osman, nor any party executive, party officer, nor any government appointee has the mandate to conduct or declare results or winner of the NPP Parliamentary Primaries of the Yendi Constituency held on the 27th of January 2024.

(e) Declare that the purported declaration of Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama by Alhaji Masawudu Osman (3rd National Vice Chairman) as the winner of the 2024 NPP Parliamentary Primaries for Yendi Constituency on the 27th of January 2024 is null, void and of no effect whatsoever and he as a National Officer should be sanctioned for disregarding party protocols.

(f) The Regional Party Officers who were also involved in the misconducts should be sanctioned.

(g) All EC officers who were complicit in the process should be sanctioned by the EC.

h) Make an order prohibiting the incumbent Member of Parliament, Hon. Farouk Aliu Mahama from holding himself as the Parliamentary Candidate (PC) Elect of the Yendi Constituency for the 2024 Elections.
( i) Order for fresh elections to be conducted and supervised by competent, independent, and sincere Electoral Commission Officers, Party Officers, and Security Officers.

( j) Make any other order(s) as the party may deem fit under the circumstance. I respectfully submit above trusting that the leadership of the party will act decisively and in the greater interest of our enviable party for justice and true democratic credentials of our party to prevail over all other interests. God bless our homeland Ghana and our great New Patriotic Party.

Thank you.

Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama

NPP Parliamentary Aspirant,

2024 Yendi Constituency

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) has alleged she was cheated in broad daylight.

“I will have to submit a petition because according to our party constitution, you must exhaust the channels within the party before any action can be taken.

“Once I submit the petition, I expect the party to investigate the matter and resolve it accordingly because in an election, counting must be conducted, and a winner declared, and none of that happened in this case,” she said.

The election was marred with confusion after the MASLOC CEO’s supporter accused the Electoral Commission (EC) officer of using indelible ink to spoil the ballots of his favourite candidate.

During the confrontation other NPP supporters joined and caused chaos, bringing the electoral process to a halt with all the ballots destroyed and other properties vandalised.

However, in an interview on Yendi-based Sankara Radio, the disgruntled aspirant said the incumbent MP, Farouk Mahama and his team disrupted the process when she confronted him over some irregularities.

She alleged an EC official was found with ballots concealed in his jacket, attempting to destroy and hide them to prevent an accurate count.

“As the counting was underway, somebody alerted my brother that one of the EC officials was destroying my ballots. My brother informed one of the policemen present, but he took no action.

“So, he approached the official directly to inquire about his actions, and the official denied it. He then removed his jacket, revealing ballots and ink, which caused confusion,” she narrated.

Meanwhile, one person has been arrested in connection with the disturbances with the police on a manhunt for others.

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Madam Zakariah says MASLOC is ever ready to support these micro businesses once they meet their requirements.

She was speaking at the 4th edition of the Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen National Dialogue Series on youth entrepreneurship at the Accra Digital Centre.

“We’ve money for all and can give up to 500K loans but at my level, I can give 200K. Some of the loans require collaterals while others don’t.

“For instance, if you need 5K to 10K, there will be no collateral but 20k upwards will require a collateral whose value is more than the amount we’ll give the beneficiary,” she said.

Madam Zakariah revealed they have a payment tenure of six to 18 months in response to the prevailing economic challenges.

“We have a one-month moratorium and beneficiaries have a period of 18 months to pay off their loans,” she stated.

The CEO further revealed that MASLOC also supports any form of farming whose product gestation period doesn’t exceed 18 months.

“Fish farming, poultry, crop production and we currently have people who are into honey making,” she added.

In its 16 years of existence, MASLOC has complemented governments’ efforts to adopt pro-poor programmes aimed at eradicating poverty.

The group, in a petition to the party’s Disciplinary Committee, accused Hajia Mahama, who was a 2020 parliamentary candidate aspirant, of embarking on some activities which violate the established codes of the party.

The petition had Aliu Adam Mohammed, Abukari Inusah and Abukari Iddrisu as its signatories.

The group argued there is no constituency in Ghana that a former aspirant about a year after the election is found dabbling in what they described as incongruous political sportsmanship.

But according to the former Deputy Secretary, Alhaji Shei Zakariah, the claims are deliberate attempts to soil the CEO’s hard-earned reputation.

“The said elements have flagrantly and brazenly violated the constitution of the party by misapplying the provisions and articles in the constitution in their desperate attempt to get Hajia Abibata’s image dented,” part of a statement signed by Alhaji Zakaria read.

Read full statement below:

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According to them, Hajia Mahama, who was a 2020 parliamentary candidate aspirant of the party, is embarking on some activities which violate the established codes of the party.

Their petition, therefore, is to get the high authority to exact the due sanctions in conformity with Article 4 of the Constitution of the party.

The petition had Aliu Adam Mohammed, Abukari Inusah and Abukari Iddrisu as its signatories.

The group argued there is no constituency in Ghana that a former aspirant about a year after the election is found dabbling in what they described as incongruous political sportsmanship.

“Hajia Abibata Shani Mahama organises gathering, media engagements in print and electronic in a complete snub of party’s dictates to prematurely promote her parliamentary interest in a manner that sows seeds of discord, tension, disunity and distractions in the congenial atmosphere of the party in the constituency which, in sum, fly in the face of Code of Conduct 1(c) & 1(d),” portions of the petition alleged.

They are, among other things, demanding a full, faithful, and impartial inquiry into the complaints and recommendations to the Executive Committee based on the results of the inquiry.

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The petitioners have expressed readiness to furnish the committee with further and better particulars and explanations on these complaints.

“Inability to respond to our petition within this constitutionally granted ultimatum of 19 days shall compel us, in exercising our rights, to trigger same complaints at the regional disciplinary committee and then to the national disciplinary committee as enshrined in Article 4 of the constitution,” the group warned.