Two big names for a big party position, is the kind of story headline that is fit for this kind of political race that is expected in Ghana’s current, biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC). On either side, both Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo have credits of giant political achievements to ride on, but now, the two men have to face it off for the top position of Chairman of the NDC. While there is no official final list from the party, it already looks like there is going to be a straight fight between the two personalities: Asiedu Nketiah as the longest-serving General Secretary of the NDC, and Ofosu-Ampofo as the one-term Chairman seeking re-election. In this political pedigree article by GhanaWeb, we take a look at all of the things that put either of these two candidates ahead of each other, as well as what NDC delegates might be looking out for when they go to the polls in November 2022. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo: Currently the Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo has declared his intention for re-election. This is due to the fact that his election as chairman in November 2018 comes to an end soon and he would need a reaffirmation of his performance through another endorsement from his party members. But it has been a long political career for him, starting off in this trade in 1994, when he was appointed as the District Chief Executive for the Fanteakwa North District of the Eastern Region, by Jerry John Rawlings. In 1996, he run for parliament on the ticket of the NDC in the same district and won, representing the people of the constituency until he lost his third re-election bid in 2004 to the New Patriotic Party’s candidate, Kwadwo Agyei Addo. Having served in the second and third parliaments of the fourth republic of Ghana, Ofosu-Ampofo again tried his shot at the parliamentary seat in 2008 but got unlucky once more. His next political job came when he won the National Organiser position of the NDC but on the assumption of power in 2009, John Evans Atta Mills appointed him the Regional Minister for the Eastern Region. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo then moved on from there to serve as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, his last political portfolio before he was elected as the NDC’s National Chairman in 2018. Under his tenure, he was unsuccessful in helping the party and John Dramani Mahama in wrestling power from the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government in the 2020 general elections. But that loss gave the country a historic win: the first time parliament is hung, with a split of a perfect number of Members of Parliament, as well as the Speaker of Parliament being a member of the opposition for the first time ever. Speaking in a Ghanaian Times report, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo stated that one of his achievements is that that the party had become more attractive under his leadership. He has also likened himself to the biblical Jesus Christ. “The delegates must look no further than Ofosu-Ampofo as I am prepared to take the NDC to the Promised Land because you do not change the team that turned around the fortunes of the party after it suffered a humiliating defeat in 2016 and I liken myself to Christ when he was asked by the disciples if he is the Messiah. “Jesus said to them, the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, what more do you want to see? I am the National Chairman of NDC and the party was in disarray due to our humiliating defeat in 2016 since it was not attractive at the time but I played key roles together with my team to turn the around fortunes of the party during the 2020 elections,” he said. He has also stated that but for the use of state-sponsored security personnel, the NDC would have won more parliamentary seats in the 2020 elections, including Techiman South, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Zabzugu, Essikado-Ketan, and others. “I have what it takes to bring the NDC back to power again however, I believe together with my team, we also managed to snatch seats that have never been won by the party in a long time, including Tema East, Ayensuano, among others, which demonstrates our competence and I am hopeful members, supporters, sympathisers, faithful and well-wishers of the party to renew my mandate to serve for another four-year term,” he appealed. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah: Asiedu Nketiah, the man popularly known as General Mosquito, is the face of the other main contender for the National Chairman position of the party. As the current General Secretary of the NDC, he is one of the most powerful people in the party, having served in the role since 2005. Born on December 24, 1956, at Seikwa in the Brong Ahafo Region, he trained in petty trading, Akpeteshie distilling, palm wine tapping, and a drinking bar. After educating himself at the University of Ghana, he practiced as a banker before entering into politics. His entrance onto the political scene came when he contested and won the Wenchi District Assembly elections of 1989, following which he was elected to the Consultative Assembly in 1992. He held that position for 12 years, being part of the team that drafted Ghana’s current constitution – the 1992 constitution. In 1992, he entered parliament as the Member of Parliament for the Wenchi West constituency and served for 12 years. During his time in parliament, he served on several committees such as the Appointments Committee, Finance Committee, Public Accounts Committee, Chairman Mines and Energy Committee, and Minority spokesperson on Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs. From 1997 to 2001, Asiedu Nketiah served as a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture (Crops). After he decided to say goodbye to parliamentary work, he stood for the General Secretary position of the NDC and won overwhelming in the 2005 party elections. As the third General Secretary of the party, he led the party to win the 2008 and 2012 elections, giving the country presidents John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama. There have been several achievements accorded to his credit, including the same glory his other contender, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo boasts of: giving Ghana its first hung parliament and first Speaker of Parliament from the opposition party. After serving as General Secretary of the NDC for 17 years, he had announced the hanging of those boots and the desire to continue to lead the party, but this time as the National Chairman. The pedigrees of both Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and Johnson Asiedu Nketiah would play massive roles in the decisions of National Democratic Congress delegates when the party goes to the polls later this year. Who would it be? You can also participate in GhanaWeb’s poll to find out who becomes the NDC’s next National Chairman by voting below: Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below: AE/WA