Egya Eba O Egya Ebe O, Egya Ebedu. Egya Dedu A, Oye Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, immediate past Minister of Education and one-time Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.
Some NDC activists are already over the moon others are not that happy, but have been whipped into line. Listening to some activists of the Umbrella political tradition, it looks like with the former minister partnering former President John Dramani Mahama, the gate of Jubilee House is already open for the entry of the John and Jane triumphant team.
I heard Nana Oye Lithur, former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, who is still battling Tony Lithur in what looks like a damaging divorce proceeding in court, singing hallelujah chorus to the nomination of her colleague, the former Education Minister.
Nana Oye celebrated Naana’s gender as if it is the panacea for the success of the NDC at the polls. Trust TV3 to do the NDC bid. After all, those who contrived to sell the former Ghana Film Industry Corporation and all that huge land for a mere US$1.5 million, turned round to buy same on the departure of the Malaysian company.
I can tell you that these personalities are key NDC operatives. I will add that they know why the Ghana Film Industry Corporation was sold so cheap to the Malaysians.
Next time you hear TV3 presenters selling their station as Best in News, Best in Entertainment, you could keep your pinch of salt nearby.
Just by the way, Nana Oye is a woman. She is one of those fairer sex with a strong advocacy towards women empowerment. She herself was a Minister in the last Mahama regime. What did Nana Oye bring on board that her colleague men could not do?
I do not think we have men or women in this country creating all the problems, and another group of gender activists solving them. It is a person’s ability to perform that matters.
Listening to the same regional party chairmen, who had earlier rejected the vice presidential nominee, singing the praises of Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang after they had been whipped into line, makes politics in Ghana an exciting venture.
Now, the same people who crucified her are now speaking of the woman in glowing terms. One NDC activist said, as an academic, the vice presidential nominee has what it takes to challenge the New Patriotic Party for votes on the various campuses. Another woman advocate said Naana Opoku-Agyemang has already added 40 percent of votes, mainly from women across the country, to the NDC votes
There is widespread belief within the top hierarchy of the party that the Central Region votes, which swung to the NPP in the last election, are likely to return to the NDC, just as it happened under deceased President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills.
At Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Constituency of the Central Region, there was widespread jubilation at the town centre when Naana’s name was mentioned. Scores of women, including gender activists, were reported on myjoyonline to have described her nomination as a step towards deepening Ghana’s democracy.
One of them, Madam Hannah Donkor, said Mrs. Opoku-Agyemang’s nomination presented a unique opportunity to make the future possible and accessible for women.
“We are ready to go all out to campaign feverishly for her and the party as we pray to God to make our voices to be heard in good faith,” Madam Donkor said.
In her acceptance speech, the vice presidential nominee said her nomination was a victory for inclusive and participatory democracy, “which enhances the credentials of our country and recognises the towering role women have played over the ages to achieve the progress we have made.”
Read the vice presidential nominee further: “I pledge to diligently to apply myself and dedicate all the energy and intellect I can muster to ensure a resounding victory for the NDC, and for our country, Ghana. So help me God!”
The Ashanti Regional branch of the party compared the nomination of the former Vice-Chancellor to the exploits of the legendary Yaa Asantewa of the Ashanti Kingdom.
Read portions of the regional statement: “We recount the historic accomplishment of the Great Yaa Asantewaa, and we believe Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemang would certainly emulate that.”
Said the Ashanti regional branch of the party: “Women constitute about 52 percent of the Ghanaian population; this nomination is a vote of confidence in the abilities and strengths of women.”
Unfortunately, not everybody is enthused merely with the Naana ticket. Former President Jerry John Rawlings said the game is up for the party he founded. He told the leadership of the party that the political party in power at the moment appears too strong to be defeated this year. He was, therefore, advising the presidential candidate and his campaign team to re-dedicate themselves to the cause in 2024.
The founder told NDC gurus who conferred with him on the way forward to forget about 2020 and start preparing for the 2024 vote, on the basis that the NDC stood no chance against the NPP, which is in government at the moment.
According to Jerry Rawlings, the NPP still has the command on the ground, and that it was only when fatigue set in the second stage of governance, and the government becomes unpopular, that the NDC could take advantage.
Unfortunately, just before the official out-dooring of the vice-presidential nominee, the regional chairmen of the party had met the presidential hopeful and served their vice-presidential nominee to the vultures.
It is as interesting as it is intriguing. A day or two before the official announcement of her nomination, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party, met all the 16 regional chairman of the NDC, and announced his proposed nomination of the former Education Minister as his running mate.
On hearing the name, almost all the regional chairmen kicked against the nomination on the basis that the nominee carried too much luggage. They contended that it was upon her advice, as Minister of Education, that the NDC in power cancelled teacher trainee allowances that has made the party in opposition so unpopular. They also contended that the advice to cancel book and research allowances for teachers was included in some of her handiwork that hurt the NDC at the last polls.
It is only natural that the governing NPP dug deep into those concerns in their official re-action to the nomination of the former Vice-Chancellor.
At a media encounter to comment on candidate Mahama’s choice of a running mate, Mr. Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Communications Director of the NPP, said Mrs. Opoku-Agyemang’s record as Education Minister was nothing to write home about.
“Need we remind anyone that it was during the term of Naana Jane that trainee teachers’ allowance was scrapped? It was done without paying any heed to the many appeals to reconsider the decision. Indeed, it was one of the things she was proud to have done,” the Communication Director told his audience.
“Teachers were the hardest hit when Naana Opoku-Agyemang was at the helms of affairs at the Education Ministry. Apart from the transportation allowance not being paid, Naana Opoku-Agyemang introduced the practice where teachers worked for two years without getting paid, and also being restricted to only three months back pay, no matter how long they had worked.”
According to the NPP, she superintended over a supposed Progressive Fee Free Senior High School Education, when students were made to pay GH¢1,500 and GH¢1,700 per student in some schools. According to Buaben Asamoa, “it is on record that monies approved by Parliament to be paid on behalf of day students were never paid till date.”
“We, in the NPP, can only conclude that the choice of Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang by Mr. John Dramani Mahama is a clear indication that he does not take the Ghanaian electorate seriously.”
Of course, these are the sentiments of a rival. The real effect of the former Vice Chancellor’s choice would be felt at the polls. As a political commentator, I could only wish the NDC all the best in their impossible dream of returning to Jubilee House after all the mess they created in government the last time around.
When the presidential candidate himself has not been able to extricate himself from the potentially damaging bribery scandal in the Airbus affair, it would be a miracle to partner another scandal-soaked candidate and expect to win an election in which the incumbent has a huge advantage.
But politics sometimes has a way of rewarding the underdog. That, perhaps, could be the only reason the NDC is in this at all.
I shall return!
Ebo Quansah in Accra
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance
The post NDC bosses serve Jane the Veep-nominee to the Vultures appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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