Policies that will create job opportunities for the teeming youth, ensure access to potable water and improve environmental sanitation are the dominant issues that will influence the decisions of residents of the Odododiodioo Constituency in the Greater Accra Region come December 7.

Apart from the general economic challenges confronting the country, voters in this constituency will also take into account the extent to which promises made in the 2020 election have been fulfilled in the area.

For instance, the promise to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa, build a fish landing beach in James Town and construct a hostel facility for female porters at Agbogbloshie, one of the major communities in the constituency, is critical in the choices of the electorate.

And for the teeming youth in the area, manifesto promises regarding the legalisation of motorcycles for commercial use, popularly called Okada, will be key in their decisions.

This was the outcome of the Daily Graphic’s three-week engagement with eligible voters in the constituency as part of its Constituency Watch initiative.

Located in the heart of the city, the Odododiodioo Constituency stretches from the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum to the Korle Lagoon and extends to the east through the Bukom Boxing Arena, the Korle Bu Mortuary Road to the Graphic Road and the COCOBOD area.

The constituency, which borders the Klottey Korle, Ablekuma South and Ablekuma Central constituencies, has a total area of 20 kilometres square (km2), representing 0.6 per cent of Greater Accra’s total area of 3,245 km2.

The Odododiodioo Constituency lies within the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), which had a population of 284,124 residents per the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). This represents 5.2 percent of the Greater Accra Region’s 5,455,692 total population.

The PHC further indicated that 134,045 of the residents in the constituency were males, representing 47.2 per cent of the total population, while 150,079 were females, constituting 52.8 per cent.

In terms of the voter population, Odododiodioo Constituency had 105,056 voters in the poll book during the 2020 general election.

The constituency comprises major communities such as Old Fadama, James Town (British Accra), Bukom Arena, Palladium, Adedenkpo and Timber Market.

When it comes to the local government structure, it falls within the Ashiedu Keteke Sub-Metro, with seven electoral areas, including Amamomo, Mudor, Kikan and Korle Didon. One of the popular places in the constituency is Bukom, which is noted for producing the best boxers in the country.

A number of monuments of historic, cultural and tourism significance, including the James Fort and the colonial-era Lighthouse, the General Post Office, Brazilian House, Opera Cinema (Opera Square), Salaga Market and Oxford Street are also located in this constituency.

Mantse Agbonaa, located in the James Town vicinity, cannot be left out as it is the preferred venue for major activities such as the launch of campaigns and manifestos by political parties.

Electoral history

Since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1992, the cosmopolitan constituency has been the pivot on which political activities swing in the Greater Accra Region and the country at large.

Although it has been a battleground for the two dominant political parties – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) — the constituency has mostly turned green in both presidential and parliamentary elections.

Historically, NDC’s Nii Okaidja Adamafio won the parliamentary seat for two terms in 1992 and 1996 before Reginald Niibi Ayibonte of the NPP snatched it in 2000.

The NDC candidate, Samuel Nii Ayi Mankatah, however, staged a strong comeback to reclaim the seat in 2004. Since then the seat has remained in the firm grip of the NDC.

Another NDC candidate, Jonathan Tackie Commey, won the seat in 2008 before passing the baton to the current MP, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, who has held tightly to the seat from 2012 till date.

In 2020, NDC’s Nii Lante Vanderpuye garnered 41,446 votes, representing 53.8 per cent of the valid votes, to beat off competition from NPP’s Edward Patrick Nii Lante Bannerman, who polled 34,887 votes, representing 45.3 per cent of the valid votes.

An analysis of certified parliamentary results by the Electoral Commission (EC) showed that apart from 2000 when the NPP candidate won the Odododiodioo seat with 51.4 per cent, the party’s performance in the parliamentary elections averaged 44.1 per cent as against NDC’s 53.6 per cent.

Who wins?

If the trend of the parliamentary election results over the years is anything to go by, one can safely conclude that the NDC candidate stands a better chance of maintaining the seat. However, the battle is far from over as there are many dynamics that will come into play in determining who carries the day.

Heading into the December 7 elections, the stakes are high as both the NDC and NPP have presented fresh candidates to battle it out for the seat.

While the NDC is banking its hopes on Alfred Nii Kortey Ashie to succeed Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the NPP has put forward Abdul Manaf Nii Adjei Sowah to break the cycle.

As the clock ticks towards D-Day, the two candidates have been criss-crossing every nook and cranny of the constituency and adopting every available campaign strategy to win the hearts of voters.

From door-to-door campaigns, health walks, mini rallies to social gatherings, the parties are covering every ground in anticipation of victory in the polls. The big question that remains to be answered is, “Where will the pendulum swing at the end of the day?”

Residents speak

The fate of the political parties lies in the hands of the over 100,000 electorate of Odododiodioo, who have one concern or the other.

A mobile phone repairer at Old Fadama, Simon Ntemor, said he was disappointed that the government had failed to provide potable water for the community and other parts of the constituency.

“The management of waste is so poor here. Anytime it rains this place gets flooded; gutters are choked with filth and the government has not done much to tackle that challenge,” he said.

When asked who he would likely vote for on December 7, he said: “I will vote for John Mahama and the NDC parliamentary candidate.”

“I like the 24-hour economy. I am a repairer of mobile phones and people bring their phones here all the time for repairs. If the 24-hour economy is implemented and the conditions are good, the work can go on at all times.

If I close from my shop, I can leave this space for another person to work in the night so I can get additional income.”

Jacob Sampoah, a national service person, also said access to quality water was a huge challenge for the residents of Old Fadama, and that would influence who he votes for.

“In 2020, the current government promised to solve our water problem but it has been almost eight years now and we still do not have water. I will vote against the NPP,” he said.

John Justice Ewormwor, who lives at Arena, also said the poor sanitation in the area would play a key role in his decision. “Makola No.2, Millennium Market and the Yam Market are all within this enclave and because of the markets, there is so much human activity here. This comes with filth and the government has not done enough to ensure that Accra is made clean as promised,” he said.

Esther Majambe also said she would not vote for the NPP because the party failed to fulfil its promise to construct a hostel for head porters at Old Fadama.

“The Vice-President, who is currently the NPP presidential candidate, promised to build a hostel for head porters at Old Fadama, but as we speak, it has not been done. I do not trust him to do the things he is promising Ghanaians,” he said.

For Stephen Jagri, no matter the situation, he would vote for the NPP presidential and parliamentary candidates. “It is true that we have challenges here but the government has done its best. There is free senior high school education, and the people of Odododiodioo have benefited from it,” he said.

Nii Kpakpo, aka Rasta, who lives in James Town, said he had decided not to vote because politicians promised heaven and delivered hell. “My family and I will not vote this year because we have been deceived for a long time. They always promise and fail to keep their word. They use the youth for campaign and dump us after elections,” he said.

NDC targets 70%

The NDC candidate, Nii Ashie, said the party was cruising to a landslide victory of about 70 per cent in both the presidential and parliamentary elections come December 7.

“To the glory of God, I have won the elections. What I am working tirelessly on is the margin of victory, and I can assure you that I will win by a 21,000 vote margin; and in terms of percentage, I will have 70 per cent,” he affirmed.

The social worker and farmer said the progressive policies he was bringing on board had resonated well with the electorate, for which reason victory was assured for his party.

Touching on those policies, he said, they ranged from providing access to potable water, skills training for the youth, investment in education infrastructure, capacity-building for teachers, tackling the sanitation challenges in the area and promotion of sports, especially boxing.

“In terms of education, I intend to use my MPs Common Fund to upgrade basic schools and acquire modern tools and equipment for teaching. I will ensure that all teachers within Odododiodioo are given quarterly, mid-year or annual training to boost their capacity to give the best training to our students,” he said.

He said it was disappointing that after almost eight years in government, the NPP had failed to provide basic necessities of life for the people of Odododiodioo.

“Filth is drowning Odododiodioo, and I am sad that despite the promise to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa, things are getting worse by the day. I will take steps to address this sanitation challenge as one of my priorities if I become the MP,” he said.

Nii Ashie added that some projects which were started by the NDC to improve the living standards of the people had been abandoned.

“The Salaga Market project started under the NDC; we did feasibility and started it before we left power but when NPP came, they left it there without adding a single block.

We started the Sempe School project but they failed to continue with it; there are other projects like that,” he bemoaned.

Touching on Okada operation, he said the NDC had made a manifesto promise to legalise it to create sustainable job opportunities for the youth. “Luckily for me, the NDC flag bearer has given a clear manifesto promise that Okada will be legalised to create jobs for the youth and ensure that they operate within the road traffic regulations,” he added.

NPP upset

In contrast, the NPP is also confident of victory in Odododiodoo as it employs every available tactic to break the NDC dominance in the area.

The party’s constituency chairman, Samuel Boadi, said the numerous projects the NPP government had undertaken in the constituency would do the talking and deliver victory to the party come December 7.

"We have constructed the Agbogbloshie road, renovated the Usher Polyclinic and the James Town Maternity Clinic, started work on James Town Abattoir, and constructed the James Town Fishing Harbour.

“The Sempe School was started by the NDC and abandoned, but the NPP got money to continue with the stalled project. The Salaga Market was also started by NDC and left to rot, but currently, a contractor is on site and there are many other projects," he said.

Touching on job creation, he said, the newly built James Town Fishing Harbour would create many jobs for the residents of Odododiodoo.

"We are aware that many of the youth make a living from the Okada business, so the NPP government will not stop it; we will rather make it better for them to remain in business and also obey traffic regulations," he added.

Responding to the concern raised by the residents on poor sanitation, he said the government, through the AMA and other sanitation sector agencies, had done a lot of work to rid the city of filth but what remained a challenge was the bad attitude of some people.

"The government has done its best but we still have people who throw waste into gutters. What we need is attitudinal change," he said.

Mr Boadi said the NPP parliamentary candidate had taken steps to address the water challenges in the constituency by ensuring that broken pipes were fixed, while new boreholes were built.

"The Odododiodioo you see today is not the Odododiodioo you knew yesterday. The NDC's propaganda is over, and the NPP will win that seat," he stressed.

Peaceful elections

Mr Boadi said contrary to what had been known about Odododiodioo as a hotspot for violence, the leadership of both sides had decided to give peace a chance heading into the December 7 polls.

"The Chairmen of both NDC and NPP have met and decided to take joint steps to ensure peaceful elections in Odododiodioo. We do not want to go into the election with violence; we want to win the election without hurting a fly.

We know that Odododiodioo is Greater Accra and Greater Accra is Odododiodioo; so when there is peace in Odododiodioo, there will be peace in Greater Accra," he said.