John Mahama introducing his running mate to Jerry John Rawlings
THE FOUNDER of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President Jerry John Rawlings, has stated that the party’s running mate was not his preference to partner ex-President John Dramani Mahama for this year’s election.
According to him, he had “other persons in mind” rather than Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who got selected by the NDC flagbearer.
Mr. Rawlings indicated that Mr. Mahama, prior to the announcement of the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast as running mate, informed him that he had settled on Prof. Opoku-Agyemang after consultations with the party hierarchy, since she was the favourite among shortlisted candidates.
“If this was the case, then there was no reason to stand against it, even though I had a few others in mind,” Mr. Rawlings said when the NDC leader and some members of the national executive committee called on him on Thursday to introduce her to him officially.
Mr. Rawlings described Prof. Opoku-Agyemang as “a person of integrity,” adding that “there is no doubt that it is your integrity that has earned you the position as running mate. You have come through the right door.”
Earlier, Mr. Mahama said his running mate had a solid credential worthy of her selection and pointed to her appointment as the first female Vice Chancellor of a public university in the country.
Mr. Mahama, on Monday, July 6, 2020, announced the former Education Minister as his running mate for this year’s election.
She did not stand a dog’s chance of making it in the reckoning of political pundits as they worked the possibilities, but as fate would have it, she won the heart of the flagbearer and the hierarchy of the NDC.
Speculations Galore
The media occasionally came up with speculative stories and one occasion the flagbearer simply rubbished the efforts somewhat perfunctorily.
For many observers who flaunted names of possibilities, they expected the final choice to be one grounded in economics, the thought being getting a person with clout in fiscal matters enough to call the bluff of the ruling party’s ‘wizard’, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
By Ernest Kofi Adu