Late Mfantseman MP's family aware he married two wives - Second wife speaks

Narrating the story on Accra-based Kasapa FM after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) chose Ophelia Hayford, as the parliamentary candidate for the December general elections, she said she got married to the MP at a public ceremony on June 8, 2013, and were living together at Tarkwa until his death.

She said: "At the time Ophelia called me, I had been married to Ekow for the past three years and living with him at Tarkwa. Feeling very shocked, I called my husband and asked him who Ophelia was? He told me to ignore her whenever she calls me and I told him he needed to explain things to me because the woman keeps sending me text messages.

"It emerged that he had not officially divorced his first wife, as he had indicated but he couldn’t tell me the truth; the reason why I agreed to marry him.

"I asked what was the way forward and my late husband told me that he’ll sort out the issue and, so, I was waiting for his action.

"But since then, I never heard from anyone including his first wife. I've been staying with him at Tarkwa and he visits his mother occasionally on weekends – being the only child."

She stated that "When the matter came up, I went to see his mother for a discussion. All the family members know and accepted that Ekow has two wives and, so, I shouldn't be worried. This is what his mother told me."

Ophelia to contest December polls

Ophelia Hayford, though not a politician, was chosen because she is a grassroots person who is loved by the constituents, the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, has said.

He said: "She knows the constituency very well and considering the large support that the husband had and the kind of difficulties that the constituency is going through, a lot more of the constituents think that we should let the wife continue."

In an interview on Accra-based Joy FM, the NPP scribe said when her name came up for consideration, it received massive endorsement at the constituency, regional and national levels.

"There was massive consensus; no descent at all", he said, adding that the constituency considers Mrs. Hayford "as the backbone of her late husband so she is the right person to continue his good works."

Meanwhile, Ophelia Hayford, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), reports stated has submitted her resignation letter to the Police Administration to contest as MP for the area.