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In a Facebook post, Gabby revealed that in 2008 two groups; the women caucus of the NPP in Parliament and women organizers of the party lobbied against the choice of Hajia Alima Mahama.
His comments come after a section of the general public criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo’s recent comment that there has not seen enough dynamism and activism in the gender parity agenda of the country
However, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute recalled in his post a 'disheartening and scary" moment where two buses filled with NPP Women Organisers from across the country parked in front of the candidate’s house in East Legon to lobby him against the choice of the woman.
Mr Otchere-Darko's Facebook post reads: A little uncomfortable history to chew on. Me and my big mouth.
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When in early 2008, the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, hinted to the powers within his party that his first choice for running mate was the Minister for Women, Hajia Alima Mahama, the biggest organised opposition came from women, principally, two powerful women groups: (1) the women caucus in Parliament (2) women organizers of the party. In fact, we woke up one morning with two big buses load of Women Organisers across the country parked in front of the candidate’s house in East Legon to lobby him against the choice of the woman. Frankly, it was disheartening and scary. Extremely.
In 2014/15, the same presidential candidate put on the party’s agenda how to aggressively ensure that women are selected for winnable seats. But, other pressing intra-party issues at the time derailed that important move. I hope the party will put it back on the table.
Background
Speaking as a panelist on the topic: “Power, Progress, Change”, at the Women Deliver 2019 in Vancouver, Canada, last Monday, President Akufo-Addo said, despite the majority being women in Ghana, he has not seen enough activism in their push for greater inclusion in Ghana’s political administration.
“Fifty-two percent of the population are women,” he said, adding that “these statistics should count, but that will only happen when women sit round the table where the decisions are made.”
“If women don’t, for instance, put themselves up to be elected as candidates, then it is difficult to have a majority of them as ministers because at least half of my ministers, per the Constitution, must come from the legislature.”