The announcement of Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as the selected running mate nominee for John Dramani Mahama as Flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) towards the 2020 elections has generated lots of conversations on social media and local media platforms.
Two questions keep popping in the conversation; Is Ghana ready for a female vice president? and What exceptional thing is she bringing to the table?
It is prudent to note that, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang is not the first woman to earn the vice presidential nominee slot, others in the past have also earned that spot and recognition.
The Vice-president of the Republic of Ghana is the second-highest executive official in Ghana when elected together with the president by the people through a popular vote to serve a four-year term of office.
The provisions of article 62 of the 1992 Constitution apply to a candidate for election as Vice-President:
(a) He/she is a citizen of Ghana by birth
(b) He/she has attained the age of thirty-five years
GhanaWeb has put together a list of women who have been appointed as vice-presidential candidates in Ghana from 1996 to 2020.
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, NDC, 2020
The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday, July 6, 2020, announced to the general public that it has settled on Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate for John Dramani Mahama for the 2020 polls.
She stood tall among her male nominees in the persons of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, former Finance Minister; Cadman Mills, and Nii Noi Thompson.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang is the first in Ghana's political history to be appointed as the Vice President by a major political party.
Currently, she is the Africa Board Chairperson of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). She has been a FAWE member since 2014. She is a former Minister of Education in Ghana.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in 2008, the first female Vice-Chancellor of a public university in Ghana.
Brigitte Dzogbenuku, PPP, 2016
Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom leading the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) as the flagbearer selected Founder & Executive Director of Mentoring Women Ghana, Madam Brigitte Dzogbenuku as Running Mate for the 2016 December polls.
Previously, she served with Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited as Liaison Officer on the Geita Project in Tanzania at the Dar-Es-Salaam office. She also worked with SC Johnson Wax as a Brands Manager.
Before Tanzania, for two and a half years she ran her own public relations and events management company – Protocol Ventures.
Brigitte holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Eva Lokko, PPP, 2012
The late Eva Lokko in 2012 ahead of the general elections was confirmed by leaders of the People Progressive Party as the running mate of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom.
Eva Naa Merley Lokko was the first Satellite Communications Engineer in Ghana, the first woman Engineer in the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and one of the Engineers who installed the first colour television infrastructure for Ghana.
She was the only female Director-General for the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, since its inception in 1935. She is an alumni of the Wesley Girls’ High School, Cape Coast. She worked with the UN system for 13 years.
She passed away in 2016 after a short illness.
Nana Akosua Frimpomaa-Sarpong II , CPP, 2012
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) in 2012 joined the list by selecting Nana Akosua Frimpomaa-Sarpong as the running mate for Dr. Abu Sakara.
She is the Dwantoahemaa (queen mother) of the Dormaa Traditional Council and also the founder of Caring Kids International, a non-governmental organization.
An alumni of the Mfantsiman Girls’ Secondary School in Saltpond, she continued her education to the Kumasi Polytechnic, where she obtained a Diploma in Business Studies.
She obtained further education at the Washington School for Secretaries, the Montgomery Community College, and the Notre Dame University, all in the US.
Nana Akosua Frimpomaa-Sarpong II has worked variously with Working Mothers Incorporated, an employment agency for domestic care; Optimum Care Agency, a nursing care agency that provides permanent and temporary workers for nursing homes, and the University of Maryland Early Childhood Department, all in the US.
She is also a former National Organiser of the 31st December Women's Movement and one of the initial five people who developed the concept for the formation of the movement.
Helen Sanorita Dzatugbe Matervi, PNC, 2012
Hassan Ayariga on the ticket as the flagbearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC) in 2012 announced that he had settled on Helen Sanorita Dzatugbe Matervi, as his running mate for December elections
Below is the list of other nominees:
Patricia Ameku, running mate to Emmanuel Ansah Antwi – DFP in 2008
Petra Amegashie, running mate to Dan Lartey – GCPP in 2000
Adeline Dedo Nartey of the PNC in 1996
The late Eva Lokko was nominated by the PPP in 2012 as the running mate for Dr Kwasi Nduom