It’s still Amissah Arthur as running-mate – Prez. Mahama

• Posted on December 8, 2015
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

President John Mahama is sticking with Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur as his running-mate for the 2016 presidential elections.

The president told leaders of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) his decision at a crucial National Executive Meeting today.

This announcement settles intense lobbying by various groups in the party for the slot.

Before Monday’s announcement, some groups in the NDC’s so-called World Bank, the Volta Region, had been lobbying the President to select House Speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho as his running-mate in next year’s polls.

Another group in the Central Region fighting in the corner of Foreign Minister, Hanna Tetteh, insisted the Awutu Senya-West MP would be the best candidate to partner the President.

In spite of the lobbying, however, the President at the last National Executive Committee meeting of the governing party for the year, announced he is staying with the Cape Coast native.

This pitches Mr. Amissah Arthur against the opposition New Patriotic Party’s Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Both of them are economists and both worked at the Bank of Ghana. Mr. Amissah Arthur was governor of the Central Bank from 2009 until his elevation to the Vice-Presidency following the death of President John Atta Mills.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on the other hand, was Deputy Governor of the BoG until his nomination as running mate to NPP flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 election.

Mr. Amissah Arthur has variously been criticised as too slow and too aloof but the President has remained confident in him.

-joyonline