Veep Drops Amoako Tuffuor

In a move to shake-up his bid for the presidency, Vice President Aliu Mahama has altered his campaign team to give it what an insider described as the desired vim to weather the storm of the ongoing strategies to win the hearts of majority of the Electoral College of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The action is also to prime the team for this week's launching of his campaign in the Central Regional capital of Cape Coast.

The most outstanding feature of the reshuffling is the dropping of Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor, the Executive Director of President Kufuor's School Feeding Programme, from his position as head of the team.

Dr. Tuffuor, who has for a long time been an important feature of the Vice President's outfit, carved for himself a touch of controversy with his robustness and brusqueness.

His often abrasive reaction to issues bordering on the Number Two Citizen's office has set him apart from others who have preferred the diplomatic approach.

The fiery Tuffuor, we have learnt, did not let go of his grip of the campaign machinery without a fisticuff.

In the end though, he gave way to allow for the foisting of a new detail to manage the campaign machinery.

DAILY GUIDE has learnt that a statement in respect of the alteration in the campaign team will not be long in coming but will definitely be after the launching of the Veep's campaign in the next few days.

Grabbing the topmost position in the Vice President's new team is Mr. Ben Annan, the twice Presiding Member at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

Mr. Annan now wears the hat of Campaign Manager for Vice President Aliu Mahama.

A lawyer by profession, his ethnic background as a Ga will immensely enhance the campaign machinery of the Vice President.

A dyed-in-the-wool NPP man, Mr. Annan has a certain diplomatic suavity which, it is thought, will serve as a critical impetus at this time when the other aspirants have gone into overdrive with their campaigns.

Mr. Yaw Asamoah Buabeng, a Special Assistant to the Number Two Citizen, who has exhibited an unblemished loyalty throughout his tenure, is on leave.

The break is to allow him to cool off adequately, prior to a new deal for him as part of an invigorated campaign team.

DAILY GUIDE has learnt that a new campaign strategy is going to be complemented by the new team and that the Vice President has already completed his nomination forms which will be submitted sometime this week.

The Cape Coast campaign launch is being worked out by a select team of experts who are keeping the details close to their chest, especially after most of the candidates have rolled out theirs.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama's campaign headquarters is lodged at a beautiful block adjacent to M-Plaza in Roman Ridge.

The flurry of activities at the location is gathering steam by the day and is a pointer to the seriousness of the Yendi man's bid.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama's poster depicting him in a rich kente cloth presents the man as one who represents the interests of the whole country and not only where he hails from. “One God, One Nation, One People” are the words adorning the captivating poster which has joined the others posted all over the country.

Suffering a brief bout of fatigue, Alhaji Aliu Mahama abandoned his convalescing and joined his boss, the President at the Independence Square on Saturday full of vigour for the Eid-El Fitr celebration.

He marched straight to Nima, the sprawling Accra suburb where his bid witnessed a boost from a show of solidarity exhibited by a section of the Zongo community.

His interaction with Hon Akufo Addo, with whom he posed for the cameras, did his image much good.

By A.R. Gomda