The Head of Research at the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Paul Eric Ofori, has characterized Majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s remarks against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as regrettable and short-sighted.
The Majority Leader, speaking in Parliament on Monday, March 11, criticized the NDC’s choice of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, a woman in her 70s, as running mate, suggesting a lack of succession plan and visionary leadership within the NDC. This sparked anger among the Minority Caucus, leading Afenyo-Markin to retract his comments.
Appearing on the Breakfast Daily program on Citi TV, Eric Opoku argued that Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang’s extensive experience, including serving as vice chancellor of a university and as the Education Minister, speaks for itself.
He deemed Afenyo-Markin’s comments unnecessary and urged a focus on what the running mate can bring to the table.
“I was hoping that we would look at what she can do rather than her age. If we consider that part, then it will mean that we are not giving a voice to the women who want to come into politics. For a no less a person than the Majority Leader in Parliament to make such a statement is most unfortunate and myopic on his part to attempt to think that Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang comes in with nothing,” he added.
Ofori expressed disappointment in the Majority Leader’s statement, considering it unfortunate and myopic to undermine the selection choice made by John Dramani Mahama.
He emphasized the need to evaluate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang’s capabilities rather than fixating on her age, asserting that such statements discourage women from entering politics.
“Prior to even being the running mate, she had been the vice chancellor for a whole university, then also became the Education Minister so in terms of experience, she comes in with a lot of experience and I do not think that it is in the place of Alexander Afenyo-Markin to sort of denigrate the image of the selection choice of John Dramani Mahama.
“I was hoping that we would look at what she can do rather than her age. If we consider that part, then it will mean that we are not giving a voice to the women who want to come into politics. For a no less a person than the Majority Leader in Parliament to make such a statement is most unfortunate and myopic on his part to attempt to think that Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang comes in with nothing.”