NDC parliamentary primaries: Four hot races to watch out for

The largest opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is set to have its presidential and parliamentary primaries on Saturday, May 13, 2023, to elect the party’s presidential candidate as well as parliamentary candidates for the 2024 elections.

The political atmosphere in NDC in some constituencies has been heightened as the day for the primaries draws near.

Leading figures in the NDC, including the party’s former 3rd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Said Sinare, have predicted that there will be some majority casualties as some incumbent members of parliament are set to lose the primaries.

Here are some constituencies that are expected to be keenly contested:

The Adentan Constituency:

At the Adentan Constituency, the incumbent MP, Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, would be facing stiff competition from newcomer Linda Awuni and former Minister of Gender and Children and Social Protection Nana Oye Bampoe Addo.

Adamu Ramadan is the brother of the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, and a first-term MP for Adenta.



He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, a master's degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance, a Master of Arts in Economic Policy Management as well as a Master of Arts in Economic Policy Management degree.

Before becoming an MP, he was a special assistant and presidential staffer at the Flagstaff House during the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama.

Linda Awuni, who was born and raised in Adentan SSNIT Flats, is a studious and industrious engineer with a BSc in geological engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in project management from the Galilee Institute of Management, Israel.



Linda is the Managing Director of BOHA Engineering Limited, an indigenous company specialising in providing engineering solutions and services to industries across Ghana and beyond.

Nana Oye Bampoe served as the minister for gender, children, and social protection under former President John Dramani Mahama, from 2013 to 2017.

Oye Bampoe has a Bachelor of Law (BL) from the School of Law, Accra (1992) and a Masters in Law, Human Rights and Democratization in Africa (LLM) from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2001).



She lost the primaries for the Adenta parliamentary seat in 2018 to the current MP for the area, Adam Ramadan.

The Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese Constituency:

Former Deputy Minister of Information, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, would be facing off with an academic, Prof Nana Ama Browne.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu was the candidate for the NDC for the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese Constituency in the 2020 elections which he lost marginally to his contender from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



He currently works as a special aid to former president John Dramani Mahama and a member of the communication team of the NDC.

His only competition for the NDC primaries, Prof Nana Ama Browne Klutse, was his challenger in the 2018 primaries.

Prof Ama Browne, an indigene of Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, is a senior lecturer at the Department of Physics of the University of Ghana.



She is an associate proffer of physics. She is currently a member of the Task Group on Data Support for Climate Change Assessments (TG-Data).

She previously worked as the Remote Sensing manager at the GIS and Climate Centre and as a senior research scientist at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

The Asawase Constituency:

Another race to watch out for is that of the Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti Region, where the incumbent MP of Parliament, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka will be challenged by Mabarick Masawudu.

Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka has been the MP for Asawase since 2005 when he won the by-election to replace the late NDC MP, Dr Gibril Adamu Mohammed. He has represented the constituency in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and the 8th parliaments of the 4th Republic of Ghana.



He served as both a majority chief whip and minority chief whip in the Parliament of Ghana.

Muntaka’s contender, Mabarick Masawudu, is the President of the AfCFTA Chamber of Producers and Suppliers (AfCOPS)

He is also the CEO of Newgen Energy, a specialized energy solutions provider in Africa that develops, plans, builds, and owns distributed power production facilities, energy-saving initiatives, and outsourcing energy infrastructure to keep cities and industries functioning efficiently.



The Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency:

Three persons would be contesting in the Ayawaso West Wuogon NDC primaries, including actor cum politician, John Dumelo; Fred Nuamah and Moses Barfi Acheampong.

John Dumelo, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the constituency for the 2020 elections will be challenged by his close friend, Fred Nuamah, an actor and film director.



(John Dumelo (right) with Fred Nuamah (left)

The parliamentary primaries for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency has attracted interest after the decision of Fred Nuamah to challenge his close friend, John Dumelo, whom he (Nuamah) describes as his brother.

The third candidate for the primaries, Moses Barfi Acheampong, is a lawyer and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana.

The constituency's primaries has been put on hold by the party’s Functional Executive Committee.

IB/FNOQ