The Programmes Manager of the Alliance for African Women Initiative, Philip Kwesi Agyei has stated that running for the NDC, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has the potential to be the president of the country.

He made the statement in reaction to some critics that Mrs Opoku-Agyemang cannot lead the nation in the absence of Mahama, should they be voted into power.

“This woman has been a vice chancellor for the University of Cape Coast, one of the premier universities in this country. Do they know how what it means for someone to manage a whole university like the University of Cape Coast, and she excelled there? What makes you think she can handle youthful vibrant university students but cannot handle Ghana? Unless they produce facts that says that yes, she held a position, and that position, she messed up. In our records, in our archives, there is none like that,” he said in an interview with GhanaWeb today, July 8, 2020.

He added that Ghanaian women have over the years been silenced and limited when it comes to political participation, so Mrs Opoku-Agyemang’s selection as the running mate for John Dramani Mahama is a major breakthrough for women empowerment.

“Women have been finding it difficult to get into the political arena because of insults and denigration, and the manpower that exists out there. Once we have a woman at that position, it will encourage women at the grassroots get into politics,” he said.

He concluded that Mrs Opoku-Agyemang’s election as the vice president of the country will challenge the status quo.

“It will be a great achievement for women empowerment. And we believe that getting a woman at that position will help champion the course of women because as you know, power or more or less decision making at the highest level influences everything that goes down at the grass-root level. So once we have a woman vice president who is able to champion the course of women, it is good,” he concluded.