Nana shocks NPP: Chambas could be his running Mate

INFORMATION REACHING DAILY GUIDE indicates that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has submitted three names to the party’s leadership, so one of them will be considered as his running mate.

The three-name list which was reportedly discussed with President J.A. Kufuor at his residence yesterday morning, excluded the names of party “big shots” who had hitherto taken the media by storm, jostling for the running mate slot.

The flagbearer, DAILY GUIDE learnt, forwarded the names of Alhaji Adam Zakaria, Principal of the Bagabaga Training College; Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, President of the ECOWAS Commission; and Dr. Mohammed Bawumia, a Deputy Governor at the Bank of Ghana.

Nana Addo on Sunday held a high-level meeting with both Dr. Chambas and Alhaji Zakaria and in the early hours of yesterday morning also met with some of the party’s leaders at the Asylum Down Campaign Office of the party in Accra to further deliberate on the issue.

Deep-throat sources say NPP Chairman, Peter Mac Manu; National Campaign Director, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku; former Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo and other party gurus had jaw-jawed with Nana Addo during yesterday’s meeting.

The names of the three highly respected individuals are expected to be presented to the NPP National Executive Committee (NEC) on Thursday. The NEC meeting, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was on Tuesday postponed to tomorrow Thursday at 11.00am.

Reports say the NEC meeting was postponed because Nana Addo would on Wednesday be reading a statement on the floor of Parliament.

The chosen running mate would be introduced to the elephant family this Saturday during its National Conference in Sekondi/Takoradi.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the NPP flagbearer might have it tough getting NEC to approve the names, as they seem to be back-benchers who have not mounted the NPP Soapbox before.

The search for a running mate for Nana Addo has taken several twists and turns amidst strong lobbying from many party heavyweights.

Kwesi Jonah, a Political Scientist, commenting on the implications of who Nana Addo would settle on as his running mate, said it would serve the NPP flagbearer better if he side-steps the big names being touted.

“It is good that since one of the main contestants for the position of the running mate in the NPP, Hajia Alima Mahama has been openly rejected by leading members of the party, choosing any of the people who were openly competing with her would be a very big slight for her so going for a completely different person is a good strategy,” he told Citi Fm yesterday.

He observed that since the NDC had chosen John Dramani Mahama, a Gonja, as the party’s running mate, it would make political sense if the NPP went in for Alhaji Zakaria, also a Gonja.

This, he said, would increase the keenness of the competition as the Gonjas belong to a very large ethnic group in the Northern Region.

Pundits view Dr. Chambas as the “Kofi Annan of West Africa” and a politically mature person with a lot of credentials. The ECOWAS Commission President has an enviably large following in the North.

He has a renowned image on the international scene and a vast experience in local politics. It is however feared that Dr. Chambas’ NDC roots may be used to discredit him.

NPP big shots who have expressed interest in the running mate position include Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs; Lepowura Mohammed Nuru Deen Jawula, who recently resigned as Chief Director of the Ministry of Health ostensibly to concentrate on his political ambition; the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, whose chances seem bleak for the simple reason that he is an Abudu and his people are neck deep in conflict with the Andanis over the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute; and the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Abu-Bakar Saddique Boniface, whose name was reportedly ruled out of the race recently though his lobbyists have not totally given up.

Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Rashid Bawah and the Northern Regional Minister, Mustapha Idris have also shown interest.