Former Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has fired a salvo at Prof. Mike Oquaye, chair of the 11-member committee investigating the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the 2024 elections.
Sarah Adwoa Safo is calling on the former Speaker to examine his own son, Mike Oquaye Jnr. electoral performance before casting blame elsewhere.
“What has he done? They don’t want to speak the truth. If you are a flagbearer, but the Vice President, when you say something, they will take it only if it serves their purpose,” Sarah Adwoa Safo said on Accra-based Asempa FM on Tuesday, March 18.
Mike Oquaye Jnr’s defeat in the 2024 general election was a significant upset.
He lost the Dome Kwabenya parliamentary seat to Faustina Elikplim Akurugu of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Faustina Akurugu won by a narrow margin, garnering 51,634 votes, while Oquaye Jnr secured 50,477 votes.
This loss was notable, given Oquaye Jnr’s family legacy in politics.
The Dome Kwabenya constituency had previously been held by Sarah Adwoa Safo, who had represented the area for 12 years.
However, Oquaye Jnr failed to retain the seat for the NPP, marking a significant gain for the NDC in the 2024 elections.
Speaking further, Sarah Adwoa Safo explained that “Prof Oquaye should find out what happened in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency first before preparing his report”.
She said “Dome-Kwabenya should be number one. He has to let us know why his son lost in his bid to become MP for that constituency.”
Safo’s question to Oquaye is pointed: “He should explain why, I as a woman, was able to hold the seat of that constituency for 12 years, but his son could not even win the seat.”
The NPP’s 2024 election loss was significant, with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia securing 42% of the presidential votes.
The party has established Oquaye’s committee to investigate the loss and propose solutions for future elections.
However, Sarah Adwoa Safo’s comments suggest that the committee’s work may be complicated by internal party dynamics and conflicting narratives about the electoral loss.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
