Zita Okaikoi and Kwesi Ahwoi
Last Saturday’s round of parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) produced some interesting results that have left sour tastes in the mouths of some party big wigs.
The aftermath of the voting process saw the likes of Food and Agriculture Minister Kwesi Ahwoi, former Information Minister Zita Okaikoi and public interest lawyer and former minister, Sam Pee Yalley, licking their wounds after a bitter defeat.
Mr Ahwoi, who is nursing a presidential ambition, polled 143 votes as against his main opponent, Queenstar Pokuah Sawyer’s 146, sending shocking signals to the seat of government, the Osu Castle, since he was believed to have been fielded and sponsored by the Presidency, considering his two brothers’ (Ato and Kwamena Ahwoi) close association with President Atta Mills.
Zita Okaikoi also failed to pass the acid test for the ticket she once held when she lost out to Sophia Karen Akuako, thought to be the niece of the Chairman of the Council of State, Professor Kofi Awoonor.
Sophia, the new entrant, sent Zita and Isaac Adama, who previously held the ticket, sprawling with 100 votes, as against Zita’s 87 and Adama’s 73 votes.
But NDC youth activist Ras Mubarak pulled one of the major surprises with his win over former Ablekuma North constituency chairman of the NDC, Nathaniel Addo, for the ticket, in spite of last-minute manoeuvres to manipulate the voting process with proxy votes. He had 161 votes against his opponent’s 151.
For Ras, what is left is to wrest power from the NPP’s Joe Appiah, who currently occupies the seat.
Zita’s husband, Andrew Okaikoi, however, had a good story to tell his estranged wife, who could not secure her bid after partying hard the previous night with delegates and former colleague deputy ministers.
Mr Okaikoi, also known as ‘connection man’ and ‘double double’, also surprised most when he managed to beat the likes of Abdul Nasiru Abass, a business mogul and one-time parliamentary candidate, Kweku Eshun and two others who were thought to be popular in the constituency.
He defied the odds to beat his contenders with 237 votes as against his closest rival, Nasiru’s 158.
Interestingly, Eshun, who has held the ticket before and was believed to have the backing of the presidency after jumping from Rawlings’s camp, where he had contested Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah for the NDC general secretary position in Tamale in 2010, managed an abysmal 10 votes whilst the unassuming Simon Quaye rather polled 50 votes.
But disappointed supporters of Nasiru spelt the NDC’s doom since they could not fathom why a person like Mr Okaikoi, who they said was not popular in the area and allegedly surrounded with shady deals, would be their parliamentary candidate.
Some have threatened not to vote for the NDC in the 2012 general elections since according to them, the party was now in disarray.
Delegates at Dome/Kwabenya rejected Zita Okaikoi for the relatively unknown Karen Sophia Akuoku, who whipped Zita and two others, Isaac Adamah and Apostle Isaac Afum at the polls.
She polled 100 votes while Zita managed 83 votes, with Isaac Adamah and Apostle Afum garnering 73 and 1 votes respectively.
Although the polls were held in a peaceful atmosphere at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, the winner, who was said to have enjoyed the backing of Prof. Kofi Awoonor and some Castle gurus, was whisked away by her supporters just immediately after results were declared by officials of the Electoral Commission, preventing journalists from conducting post-election interviews.
Zita, on the other hand, left the conference ground in her brand new KIA Sportage vehicle dejected, with no party supporters following her except one young lady, just after accepting the decision of the delegates and pledging her support for the winner.
The former minister lost in the 2008 elections to Prof. Mike Oquaye of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Zita, DAILY GUIDE learnt, could not match the winner with cash because she only gave away some decent Lacoste T-shirts, caps and wristwatches to the delegates.
According to information gathered, cash played a major role in Madam Sophia’s success as each of the over 250 delegates was reportedly promised GH¢600 for their votes.
The paper was informed by two delegates (names withheld) that all of them received GH¢300 out of the amount from Madam Sophia, around the Atomic Energy clinic, Friday night, with the promise of taking the balance after the election.
“I traveled all the way from Kumasi to cast my ballot because I knew I was going to get something good. We received GH¢300 each with the promise of receiving the balance after the election,” one of the delegates confided in DAILY GUIDE, adding, “This is the time for us to also get our share of the cash from politicians because they do not mind us after they are voted into power”.
Just after the polls, DAILY GUIDE saw a number of the delegates moving towards Madam Sophia Agbogba’s residence.
Sophia will be contesting against the NPP’s Adwoa Safo in the December 2012 general elections.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu & Awudu Mahama