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A private legal practitioner and outgoing Upper West Regional Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress, Abubakar Mutiu-Rahaman, has announced his intention to join the tall list of party activists crisscrossing the country with the hope of leading the youth wing of the ruling party. After marshaling the NDC youth wing in the Upper West region to secure 10 out of the 11 parliamentary seats and garnering majority votes in all constituencies in the region to ensure the ruling party won the 2012 elections, Lawyer Mutiu-Rahaman noted that it was time to lead the youth at the national level to deliver same results for the party. In an exclusive interview with The aL-hAJJ, he noted that the present state of the youth wing of the party calls for someone who has gone through the mill and knows the dynamics of youth activism to rekindle the spirit of enthusiasm, sacrifice and being there for one another, a principle he said has been the magic wand the NDC has used to win elections since 1992. He said his association with the party since 1992 when he served as branch secretary at Limanyiri Vouri in the Wa Central constituency, constituency Secretary and convener for the regional communication and research team in 2002, a regional Youth Organizer and a Senior High School teacher, has armed him with more innovative ways to revive the youth wing of the party. �I have served the party at almost all the levels. I started as a branch secretary, to constituency secretary, convener for the regional communication and research team and later regional youth organizer. My experience at these various levels coupled with my days in the classroom has taught me a lot and I can assure you that the tactics and strategies I developed to rally the youth behind the leadership of the party in the region to record the unprecedented votes we had in 2012, I�ll repeat same or build on it to put the youth at the center of the 2016 campaign,� he noted. He said gone are the days when young party activists were used as election machines and dumped later, assuring that his main idea of contesting is to empower the youth to be self-reliant and ready to do party work at any-time. �The kind of youth wing I want to build for the NDC is one that will be self-reliant, independent, resourceful and ready to rise to the occasion and engage in party work without waiting for resources from the national office,� Lawyer Mitiu-Mahama asserted. The ruling NDC will go to the polls in December or early next year to elect new national officers. Various candidates have started touring the country to warm their way into the hearts of party delegates. The youth organizer post is one of the positions that is keenly contested with many party activists announcing their intention to supplant the incumbent Ludwig Akpene Hlordze. Those who have so far announced their bid and have been flaunting their posters across the country and on social media include the incumbent Ludwig Hlordze; President of Team of Popular Youth, Marcus Garvin Adampah; one time NUGS President, Wonder Madilo; a UK-trained entrepreneur, Prince Kasim and one time youth organizer aspirant, Alhaji Abubakar Sidii. But Lawyer Mutiu said though the various aspirants in their own rights are qualified to lead the youth wing of the party, �it takes more than being a popular youth activist to win election and deliver the kind of leadership the youth desire.� He said unlike the NPP party who does media based politics, the NDC is a grassroots party, saying �I�m not saying telling your success story on radio is not good, in fact that is one of the surest ways of getting your message to the people, but NDC has a history as a grass root party, and that is where I�m focusing my attention. When would it profit me if I go hopping from media house to media house when I�m not in touch with my grass root folks?�