All you need to know about Mahama's two prospective running mates

Former President John Dramani Mahama, is expected to officially unveil his running mate for the upcoming 2020 presidential elections today July 6, 2020.

The NDC Flagbearer is expected to present either Former Education Minister, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang or a former Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor as his choice of a running mate for the 2020 general elections.

This follows earlier reports that Mahama is struggling to announce his Running Mate for the 2020 general elections as the party lacks a competent candidate to match Vice President Dr Bawumia.

Meanwhile, let’s take a look at www.ghanaweb.com’s compilation of profiles of these candidates.

Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang

Prof Opoku-Agyemang has largely been touted as the most likely candidate of the two prospects to back Mr. Mahama’s candidacy

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.

Before heading the university, she had since 1986 served as head of the Department of English, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dean of the Board of Graduate Studies and Founding Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

She was also the Academic Director of the African Diaspora Studies programme of School for International Training Study Abroad.

In October 2009, she was elected Ghana’s representative to UNESCO’s Executive Board. She has been re-elected for a second time to UNESCO Executive Board.

She obtained her Diplôme Supérieure d’Etudes Françaises from the University of Dakar, Senegal in 1976, a B. A. (Hons) with a Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast in 1977 and Masters and Doctorate degrees from York University in Toronto, Canada in 1980 and 1986 respectively.

Naana has chaired more than twenty Boards and Committees, among them: the Council of the University College of Education, Winneba 1998-2002; Academic Committee of the Ghana Council for Tertiary Education; and was Joint Co-coordinator of the Specialist Program in English Language and Ghanaian Culture for Japan Overseas Co-operation Volunteers 1991-1993.

She has also chaired the Adjudication Committee, VALCO Literary Awards, Ghana 1993-1998; Board of Governors, Ghana Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-Ghana) since its founding in 1998; and, Board of Governors, Wesley Girls High School 1994-1998.

She is a member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences; University Teachers Association of Ghana; English Studies Association; African Studies Association, USA; African Literature Association, USA; and the International Fulbright Scholars Association.

Madam Jane Opoku Agyemang was appointed in 2013 by President John Mahama after the 2012 Ghanaian general election and served until January 2017 when the Nana Akuffo-Addo administration was elected to power.

She was elected as the current Africa Board Chairperson of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and also a former Minister of Education in Ghana.

She hails from Cape Coast in the Central Region.

Mr Kwabena Duffuor

He was the Finance Minister of Ghana and also served as the governor of the Bank of Ghana I 1995. Dr Duffuor was named as one of the four best Central Bank Governors in the World at an IMF/World Bank meeting in 1999.

He is a Fellow of the Akuafo Hall, University of Ghana, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Duffuor is the founder and chairman of HODA Holdings, a business entity comprising Insurance, Banking, Real Estates, Farming, Mining and Media.

He is also the founder and president of the Institute for Fiscal Studies in Ghana, a non-profit think-tank providing economic advocacy and training which he established in March, 2013. He is the founder of uniBank which controversially collapsed in 2018.

Many however believe that with a court case hanging around his neck, he would be a detraction to the party’s agenda of recapturing of power on December 7, 2020.

Mr. Duffour was dragged to court for his alleged role in the collapse of the now defunct uniBank. He has since been charged with money laundering and dishonestly receiving.

Dr. Duffuor, who was also a shareholder of uniBank was also accused of using the HODA Group, to take money from the bank and “dishonestly” transferring more than GH¢660 million of depositor’s funds.

However, Dr Duffour is said not to have been active on politics ever since he left the position of Minister of Finance.