"What saddens me is the issue of feeding grants for our schools. Today feeding grants for the Northern Schools have been in arrears for over 14 months. The children are being fed on maggot-infested food. How can we sit and watch this situation continue? We have a so-called northern President who is in charge of the whole Ghana but northern students in schools are suffering and starving".
These were the lamentations of Mahamudu Bawumia, NPP Running Mate, when he addressed the people of Zuarungu Moshie in the Bolgatanga East Constituency of the Upper East Region on Wednesday.
Dr Bawumia criticised President Mahama for merely paying lip service to the plight of Northerners and Ghanaians in general and for virtually shirking responsibility on key issues that affect the livelihoods of the people.
Touching on the regrettable plight of Northern Senior High School students currently, Dr Bawumia said that the situation was one that particularly made him sad and wondered how someone who doesn't fail to remind people of his Northern roots can orchestrate and preside over such an unfortunate situation, a situation that has lasted for over three terms.
"Many headmasters are dodging suppliers because they cannot pay the feeding grants and we have a Northern President who says we should vote for him but who presides over this sad situation", Dr Bawumia added.
The Mahama government has refused to pay Feeding Grants to schools in the three Regions of the north since the first term of last academic year despite several appeals from authorities, parents, students and the populace in the north, including chiefs.
The situation has meant that students are fed on small rations of food which are mostly of poor quality as suppliers have refused to supply Schools until the debts that have been accumulated are cleared.
Touching on other issues which had worked against the progress of the North in the last 8 years, Dr Bawumia mentioned the infamous SADA loot, where officials of the Mahama government pilfered the resources meant for development in the North through various shady schemes.
He urged the people of the North to reject the NDC and Mr Mahama as their record over the last 8 years was one of corruption, incompetence and suffering.