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In the next few days leading up to November 4, 2023, four heavyweights in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will criss-cross the country, take over every possible marketing avenue, and devise their best last techniques possible in an attempt to win the hearts and votes of delegates who will cast votes for a new flagbearer for their party.
Particularly, this NPP race has been mixed with some of the most unexpected, shocking events coming out of any of the party’s internal elections in its history, especially after it held its Special Delegates Conference on Saturday, August 26.
Now, from the initial 10 personalities who expressed interest in the vacant flagbearer position of the party, only four men are still standing, although there should have been 5 of them on the ballot sheets.
The decision on who becomes the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will be left to the over 200,000 delegates of the party, but who and who will they be voting for?
Let’s take a look back at the four candidates standing for the position of presidential candidate of the NPP, in the order they will appear on the ballot sheets.
Kennedy Agyapong, MP, Assin Central:
Kennedy Agyapong is a politician and business tycoon. He was born on June 16, 1960, to Francis Ohene Kofi Agyapong one of three prominent Ghanaian judges who was abducted and murdered during the early years of Ghana’s Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), and Mrs. Mary Nsiah at Assin Dompim in the Central Region of Ghana.
He attended the Adisadel College in the Central Region of Ghana and holds a GCE A-Level and studied at the Fordham University, New York, USA.
Kennedy Agyapong is married to Stella Wilson Agyapong. In January 2021, the country’s media sector buzzed with news when Kennedy and his wife, Auntie Christie, renewed their marriage vows. They also celebrated their 25th marriage anniversary and her 50th birthday.
He represents Assin Central in parliament for the New Patriotic Party.
He chairs the Communication Committee in Parliament, under the current presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo.
The wealthy, outspoken, “no-nonsense” politician owns a number of companies which include; Oman F.M, Ash F.M, Net 2 TV, Super Care Company Limited (Air Conditioners Dealer), Mina D’oro Ventures, M/S Imperial World Business Limited, Gold Coin Communication. Despite being known as a businessman, Kennedy‘s business transactions have been widely questioned by most people in Ghana including his peers.
On a number of accounts, he has been accused of being a drug lord, however, with no concrete evidence against him, all the charges are nothing more than rumors. There is more to this including his high-end vehicles and numerous investments he has.
He brought the city to a standstill with a single purchase, a bed. Kennedy Agyapong notes that the bed in his bedroom cost him $80,000; a whopping 3.12 billion old Ghana Cedis. Amidst these spendings, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s net worth is not well known since the MP has never come out clear even when confronted with these questions.
However, judging by the spending and businesses the MP owns, it’s without a doubt that Kennedy Agyapong is among the top 10 richest people in Ghana.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana:
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. He chairs the Economic Management Team which is broadly responsible for shaping the government’s policies and guiding their implementation. He is at the forefront of a broad, inclusive development strategy in Ghana involving, among others, the leveraging of digitised government services to transform the delivery of public services and digitalising the economy, with an overall objective of building Ghana’s digital economy. His efforts have seen the ongoing infusion of technological innovation in every-day Ghanaian life and the rapid growth of the Fintech industry in the country.
Dr Bawumia holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Buckingham University, UK, a Master of Science Degree in Development Economics from Oxford University, UK and a Ph.D. in Economics from Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has held academic positions as Assistant Professor of Economics, Baylor University, USA; as a Visiting Scholar, -at the University of British Columbia, Canada; and Visiting Senior Research Associate, at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University, UK. He has also served as a Visiting Professor of Economic Governance at Central University, Ghana.
As an Economist and Banker, Dr Bawumia has had a prestigious career which includes serving as the Deputy Governor of Ghana’s Central Bank from 2006 to 2008 and the Resident Representative of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe in 2011. He has authored several journal articles and has numerous publications to his credit, including “Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform in Africa, Ghana’s Experience”.
Mahamudu Bawumia contested as running mate to the New Patriotic Party candidate in the 2008 elections, Nana Akufo-Addo. The NPP increased its share of the vote compared to 2004 in all three Northern Regions, in both the first and second rounds.
Bawumia was re-nominated as the Vice-Presidential Candidate to Nana Akufo-Addo for the 2012 General Elections in March 2012.
The Party won ten (10) seats in the Northern Region including Yendi, Walewale, Yagaba – Kubore, Bunkpurugu, Bimbilla, Chereponi, Kpandai, Tatale – Sanguli, Tolon and Zabzugu.
It also won the Nabdam and Talensi Constituencies in the Upper East Region. Overall, Nana Akufo-Addo and Bawumia lost the Presidential Elections to incumbent John Dramani Mahama.
Dr. Bawumia has proven to be the most influential Vice-President in Ghana’s history, having championed and led many transformational policies, including, among many others.
Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Former Minister of Food and Agriculture:
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto holds an M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Cambridge, England. He worked as an Economist, Senior Economist, Principal Economist, and Chief Economic Advisor over a period of 18 years at the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in London, England. He has also worked as a consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations on Soft Commodities (Cocoa, Coffee, Sugar).
Between 1995 and 2007, he was the CEO of two international commodity companies, Goldcrest Commodities Limited and Plantation Resources Limited both based in Ghana.
In 2008 he was elected to the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana. He spent two terms as Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. In Parliament, he held the positions of Deputy Ranking Member and subsequently the substantive Ranking Member for the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs until 2017.
In 2017 he was appointed the Minister for Food and Agriculture. In this role he has spearheaded the design and implementation of the Government of Ghana’s popular and transformational agricultural flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
He was born in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, a Christian married with 8 children.
Francis Addai-Nimoh, Former MP for Ashanti Mampong:
Francis Addai-Nimoh was born on March 23, 1965. He is a Ghanaian politician and was a member of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He represented the Mampong Constituency in the Ashanti Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.
He identifies as a Christian and is married with three children.
Addai-Nimoh was born on March 23, 1965. He hails from Mampong-Nyinampong, a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1993. He also attended the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and obtained an executive master’s degree in Public Administration.
Addai-Nimoh is a development planner by profession. He is also a civil engineer.
Addai-Nimoh is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). In 2012, he contested for the Mampong seat on the ticket of the NPP in the 2012 Ghanaian general elections and won.
He also served as a Member of Parliament for Mampong between 2008 and 2016. He contested in the NPP’s presidential primaries in 2014. He lost the bid to represent the party in 2015 parliamentary primaries.
In the annual National Delegates Conference 2022, Mr Nimoh predicted surprises of seeing new faces in the leadership of the NPP.
He has in recent times joined the race for the NPP flagbearership for the 2024 elections.
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
AE/BB
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