William Agyapong Quaittoo (left) and Alexander Akwasi Acquah (right)
The Member of Parliament for Akyem Oda, William Agyapong Quaittoo, on Friday picked forms to seek re-election in the governing New Patriotic Party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries scheduled to take place on April 25.
The form was picked on behalf of the MP by the chief executive officer (CEO) of Alphagold Ghana Limited, Alpha Nyarko Kissi, amidst brass band and music.
Addressing a host of party delegates, who had thronged the party office to grace the occasion, Mr Kissi said the MP is determined to lead the party again into victory in the December elections.
“I have never seen a Member of Parliament working so hard for his constituents and the country at large like Hon. William Agyapong Quaittoo,” he said.
Opponent steps in
Two days earlier, a host of party delegates had also picked forms for a former broadcaster and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Community Group of Hospitals, Alexander Akwasi Acquah.
In a short address shortly after picking the forms, Mr Acquah assured the delegates of a clean campaign ahead of the primaries.
Confirming the number of people who had picked forms to the Daily Statesman on Saturday, Benjamin Baiden, the constituency secretary, said available information indicates that some other people are contemplating picking forms. He stated that the party’s door is opened for any aspirant who wishes to contest.
Quaittoo vs Acquah
The contest is likely to be a two horse race between Mr Quaittoo and Mr Acquah, should others even decide to join. The two have been testing their popularity with various elections in the area. A recent election for a presiding member for the Birim Central municipal assembly ended in a stalemate after several rounds of voting. Assembly members loyal to the MP and others loyal to Mr Acquah could not arrive at a consensus on a single person.
Quaittoo
Mr Quaittoo is a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture. He is currently the chairman of parliament’s education committee and board chairman of the National Food Buffer Stock Company. An astute academic, he is the author of the popular ultimate chemistry textbook, KOVS Series.
Mr Quaittoo had his secondary education at Ghana Secondary Technical School, Takoradi. He has B.Sc (Chemistry) from the University of Cape Coast and an MBA (Marketing) from the University of Ghana, Legon.
He also holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Agribusiness, Export and Marketing Management from Galilee College, Israel. He is a former tutor of St Augustine’s College, Mfantsipim School, Aggrey Memorial and many other sixth form schools in the Central Region.
He was a market development manager for OIC International, between 2000 and 2002 and programmes manager for Enterprise Works Ghana, from 2002 to 2006. He later became a manager for Ghana Cocoa Board, from 2006 to 2012, before entering parliament in 2013.
His supporters believe, having understood the intricacies of what goes on in Parliament, he should be allowed to represent the constituency again.
Acquah
Mr Akwasi Acquah, on the hand, is an accomplished private businessman and a celebrated broadcaster. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Community Group of Hospitals, operators of six community hospitals, Three Mortuaries and several pharmacy shops in the country. He is also a former public relations officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under the erstwhile Kufuor administration.
The journalist-cum-politician started a student magazine after senior high school, before enrolling at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. Mr Akwasi Acquah is also the CEO of Max Publications and Media Services, operators of ghanadistrict.com, ghanaparliament.com and ghanahospitals.com. He is a former producer and sit-in-host of Peace FM’s “Kokrookoo”, arguably Ghana’s biggest political and current affairs talk show.
His supporters have been rallying behind his philanthropic activities to boost their hope of a potential victory in the election.
