CPP Picks Queen Mother For Veep

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has chosen Nana Akosua Sarpong Kumankuma, queen mother of the Dormaa Traditional Council in the Brong Ahafo Region, as the party’s vice presidential candidate for the December 7 presidential polls.

Nana Akosua Sarpong, chief executive of Caring Kids Foundation, a non-governmental charity-based organization for children, has subsequently relinquished her queen mother title so as to focus on her new role of partnering CPP Presidential Candidate Dr. Abu Sakara.

In her acceptance speech in Accra yesterday, Akosua Sarpong repeatedly called on all Ghanaian women to prepare rice and chicken and serve the needy with the food because the time for change had come and Ghana was returning to its past glory.

The party settled on the queen mother as vice-presidential candidate for the 2012 elections at a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held yesterday.

Reports said the decision was unanimous.

The CPP becomes the second party to pick a female running mate after the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) chose Eva Lokko, a former Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

Nana Akosua Frimpomaa II, who is the Dwantoahemaa of Dormaa Traditional Council, is the daughter of former CPP National Organiser Kuman Kuma Sarpong and also the founder of Caring Kids International, a non-governmental charity-based organization for children.

Dr. Abu Sakara, in his delivery, said he chose Akosua Sarpong because she was a dynamic woman who had demonstrated leadership abilities and aspired to the level and standard of excellence demonstrated by the founding father, late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Dr. Sakara noted further that Akosua Sarpong had a proven track record which would help the CPP win more votes come December 7. “It was not difficult bringing her on board because she comes from a family who believes in CPP and its agenda,” he added.

The CPP presidential candidate cautioned persons who had the perception that the party  would compete the December 7 elections just for the sake of participation to start re-thinking their position because the CPP was in the race to compete for every single vote that would be cast on election day.

He said the party’s main objective was to return the CPP to power come December 7, urging those who wanted fundamental change in their livelihood to vote for the party.

Nana Akosua Sarpong Kumankuma, who relinquished her position as the queen mother of Dormaa Traditional Council to take up the mantle as the CPP vice presidential candidate, said she accepted the position because of her concern for the development of the future of Ghana.

Nana Akosua Sarpong said it was quite a challenge to get the royal family to accept her decision of vacating the stool.

“I was able to convince them to agree with me because becoming the vice presidential candidate will afford me the opportunity to do the things I believe in and also team up with a leader who believes in the ideology of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

“We have a team which will bring Ghana back to her glory days. I therefore call upon all CPP faithful to join hands with us in order to bring back the party to power to lift Ghana into the millennium and make the country a global competitor,” Akosua Sarpong noted

Nana Akosua Sarpong said the CPP would solve the problems that the country found itself in right now, adding, “We are going to continue with the ideology of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to bring the nation to her past glory.”

By Cephas Larbi