Seth Ofori touts Amissah-Arthur's credentials

Seth Ofori

The press secretary for the 2004 campaign team of the late President John Atta Mills, Seth Ofori, has touted the credentials of President Mahama's choice of Vice President, describing him as staunch member of the NDC who has contributed his quota over the years.

Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Governor of Bank of Ghana was nominated by President Mahama on Tuesday to help him complete the late John Atta Mills' term of office. He is to be publicly vetted on Monday August 6, 2012.

However, the announcement has been met with consternation in some quarters, with some senior party members describing him as incapable of adding to the NDC's votes in the December poll.

Speaking on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem morning show on Friday August 3, Seth Ofori, who once served as NDC Communications Director and is currently a strategist, said the late president even addressed Dr Amissah-Arthur as his chief fund raiser, chief strategist and a gentleman he really appreciates.

He told stand-in show host Kofi Adomah Nwanwani Dr. Amissah-Arthur has been a key player behind the scenes since the PNDC, serving for a long time as Deputy Finance Minister, so it was surprising that some party members claimed not to know him.

Seth Ofori pointed out that when former President Rawlings picked the late Mills as his running mate, he was not a politician but he was able to help campaign and canvas for votes which led to victory in the 1996 general elections.

Over the years Dr Amissah-Arthur has contributed to the NDC campaign including making serious input into the manifesto, and even led a group that oversaw policy implementation under President Mills, Seth Ofori added.

He dismissed suggestions that a Vice Presidential candidate Amissah-Arthur would not be able to attract voters, insisting such claims were not based on scientific research.

In any case, it would be the job of the campaign team to market him to the electorate if he is chosen as running mate to President Mahama after the special delegates conference on September 1. If that happens, the party will conduct the necessary research to know the level of his acceptance to be able to put up a strategy to market him, he added.

The former press secretary said President John Mahama consulted widely before nominating Dr Arthur-Amissah due to his track record, to help the party and the country as a whole.

Reacting to an allegation in today's edition of the Herald newspaper that the opposition NPP had hatched a plot to tag Dr Amissah-Arthur as gay, Seth Ofori said the BoG Governor is “too disciplined” to indulge in homosexual acts.