Odartey-Wellington leads NPP running mate race

Even before the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) picks a running mate for the party’s leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, certain names have popped up as possible candidates for the position.

Over the past few months, several names including Mahamudu Bawumia, who partnered Nana Addo in 2008 but couldn’t succeed in getting the numbers, have emerged.

The party has already set mid next year for an announcement, but even before that crucial date, a new name, is making the rounds and has got many party big shots talking.

Dr. Felix Nii Lantei Odartey–Wellington, a leading member of the party and former student leader (TESCON) at the University of Ghana, is said to be the choice of most people in the party.

Odartey-Wellington, according to party sources, is leading what could go down in the party’s history as a significant and crucial time. The choice of who gets to partner many have said, “Is a tough call that requires the right attention, and in doing so, the right decision has to be made”.

Odartey-Wellington an insider has said “looks the most preferred candidate at the moment. This is somebody that has the support of majority of the party’s people and has enormous goodwill. Those days, when people were afraid to talk, he was right there. You will be surprised to learn that he wields considerable appeal at the grassroots, and understands the internal dynamics of the party. He is a very good debater and also very analytical”.

A young, fresh and dynamic individual who is seen by many as the kind of human injection the party needs, Odartey Wellington brings on board some appreciable level of youthful exuberance and energy, which the NPP can use to their advantage. He is very fluent in the Twi, Ga and has other workable knowledge in other Ghanaian languages.

Dr. Felix Odartey-Wellington is currently an Assistant Professor of Communication in Canada. Before he left for Canada, where he has been residing for some time now, he worked at Akuffo-Addo’s law chambers Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. He is a member of the Ghana Bar Association.

He received his PhD in Communication and Culture from Ryerson and York Universities (Toronto), his MA in Media Studies from Concordia University (Montreal), his BL Professional Law Qualifications from the Ghana School of Law (Accra), and his BA (Honours) in Political Science and Law from the University of Ghana (Legon).

He also taught at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, and Ryerson University, and has considerable research interests in strategic corporate communication; identity and representation in organizational culture; news and public affairs analysis; communication and transitional justice; communications law and policy; and media ecology.

The 2012 general elections is a crunch moment for the NPP, and depending on who is chosen as running mate for their presidential candidate, the party might be heading back to political power, 4 years after losing to the NDC. While individuals such as Mustapha Hamid and Alhaji MND Jawula are said to be strong contenders, the mantle party sources believe, would fall on Odartey-Wellington.