Betty Mould Seeks NDC Veep Website
Betty Mould Iddrissu, wife of Alhaji Mahama Iddrissu, whose name has been bandied about as a possible running-mate to Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer for the December 7 presidential elections, has stormed Kumasi in grand style. In what could be described as a lobbying visit, the 55-year-old lawyer met a group calling itself ‘friends of Betty’ at the Royal Park Hotel at Ahodwo, a suburb of Kumasi on the evening of Wednesday, 30th January. The group, which has a large membership of young men and women, was led by Barbara Asamoah, the NDC former parliamentary aspirant for the Offinso Constituency in the Ashanti Region. Briefing Daily Guide, Barbara Asamoah said the meeting was to afford the group the opportunity to formulate sound strategies to expose the wife of the former minister of defence in the NDC era to the electorate in the region as means of advancing her chances of becoming a running-mate to Prof Evans Atta Mills. She said the group, which was founded without the prior notice of the versatile scholar, is composed of members from both sides of the political divide who believe in the ideals of the 55-year-old mother of three. The twice-losing parliamentary candidate, pointed out that though the other names which have come out as possible running-mates to the twice defeated presidential candidate were splendid, she sincerely believed that Mrs Iddrissu was the appropriate candidate.For some time now, the media has speculated on other names like Hon. John Mahama, the NDC member of parliament for Bole Bamboi; Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, running mate to Prof. Mills in the 2004 elections, and Mrs. Hannah Tetteh Kpoda, a former member of parliament as likely candidates for the party’s running-mate ticket. Barbara Asamoah contended that it was about time the party tried a woman running-mate especially when men in the previous two elections failed to partner Prof. Mills for a resounding victory. Miss Asamoah commented that the vast experience Madam Iddrissu wields, coupled with her appealing personality, makes her the preferred candidate to partner Prof. Mills for a landslide victory in December 7 elections. “I have no doubt that the Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs division at the Commonwealth Secretariat has the magnetism to attract floating voters to the NDC to secure its victory in the upcoming polls,” she underscored. The leader of the group stressed that everything possible would be done to ensure that the 55-year-old legal luminary, was well marketed in the region and the country at large to make her an obvious choice for the topmost political position. Speaking in an interview with Daily Guide after the marathon meeting, Mrs Iddrissu expressed gratitude to the group, for showing concern towards her aspiration. She said she strongly believes that the country’s women have come of age to be considered for top-most political positions. The wife of the ex-minister of defence said, “The much talked about national prosperity would continue to elude us if we persistently fail to put women into mainstream political positions to affect decision making at the top.” Beaming with confidence that she will be eventually chosen as the running-mate of Prof. Mills, Mrs Iddrissu challenged the other presidential candidates and their parties to consider choosing women as their partners for the crunch December 7 electoral battle. She said she has a strong conviction that a woman would definitely become the next vice president of the country, and that she would be the one to make that cherished history. The intellectual property law expert contended that she has gained enough experience in both politics and academia, and has also got the magnetism to win the hearts of the non- traditional voters when given the chance to collaborate with Prof. Mills in the upcoming elections. Mrs Iddrissu said although she was strongly against politics of insults, she was prepared to stomach some of these undesirable things she was likely to face when given the job. She said she has the absolute support of her husband, Alhaji Mahama Iddrissu who lost miserably to Prof. Mills in the 2006 NDC national congress to elect a flagbearer, and her entire family in her political ambition. Mrs Iddrissu noted that since 1982, she has organized seminars and other sensitization programmes across the length and breadth of the country which immensely contributed to the level of recognition women were enjoying now. She said she collaborated effectively with other women advocates for the establishment of Women and Juvenile Unit of the Ghana Police Service, and the passage of the domestic violence law both of which seek to protect the interests of women and children. She indicated that gender issues would preoccupy her when she becomes the next vice president of the country in January 7 next year. In view of her expertise in intellectual property law, she headed the administration of intellectual property rights in Ghana, and the administration of authors’ rights at the African regional level between 1990 and 2000. She chaired both the Ghanaian and African regional groupings of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in the 1990’s and co-founded the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) in 1999 and chaired it till 2003. In 2003, she was appointed the Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, an intergovernmental organization comprising 53 Commonwealth member states.
Source: PFM
