The opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Odododiodio Constituency, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has announced his retirement from Parliament at the end of the tenure of Ghana’s 8th Parliament in 2025.
The three-term Member of Parliament for Odododiodio Constituency did not file to contest in the National Democratic Congress parliamentary primary in the Constituency which is scheduled on October 31 2023.
According to Nii Adjebu Lamptey, the Director of Election of the National Democratic Congress in the Odododiodio Constituency, three aspirants have filed their nominations to contest in the party’s primary scheduled for Tuesday, October 31 2023.
The National Democratic Congress Odododiodio Constituency Director of Election further admonished supporters of the three aspirants to eschew any habits that will bring disunity within the party in the Constituency ahead of the October 31 parliamentary primary.
According to Mr Lamptey, the parliamentary primary scheduled on October 31 2023 is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
He therefore called on all party supporters in the constituency to conduct themselves in a manner that will not spoil the image of the party both before and after the election.
“NDC members and supporters, what we are doing now is internal competition, and we pray that all of them will comport themselves so that we can have a peaceful election. The filing of nominations has been very peaceful, and we expect that it will continue like that. On Friday there will be vetting at the regional party office, and on October 31, the elections will come on as planned.”
Nii Adjebu Lamptey
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to hold parliamentary primaries in five outstanding constituencies on October 28 and 31, 2023.
The constituencies are Gomoa Central (Central region), Amenfi East, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Evalue Ajomoro Gwira (Western region), and Akontombra (Western North region).
The primary for the Odododiodioo constituency in Accra is scheduled on October 31, 2023, due to the final funeral rites of the late Ga Manye.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued by the General Secretary of the party, Fiifi Fiavi Kwartey on Saturday, October 7 2023.
The Political Profile Of Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye
Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye entered Parliament in 2013 after defeating the New Patriotic Party candidate, Victor Okaikoi to win the Odododiodio Constituency seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in the 2012 elections.
Known for declaring in November 2012 that he would give up the seat to Okaikoi if he received less than 65% of the vote, Mr. Vanderpuye was fairly optimistic about his chances of winning. He won by a less landslide than anticipated with 45,967 votes (63%) to 26,269 (36%) for Okaikoi and 745 (1%), for Emmanuel Odoi of the Convention People’s Party.
With 36,606 votes or 57.04% of the total, he was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodio Constituency in December 2016. The New Patriotic Party’s candidate received 26,671 votes, or 41.56% of the total, which was his closest competitor.
He serves in Parliament as the ranking member of the Local Government and Rural Development Committee and as a member of the Privileges Committee and Appointments Committee.
In March 2013, Mr Vanderpuye was appointed as Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry under the John Mahama government.
He served in that role until 2014 when he was moved to serve as Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development where he served until 2015.
After a ministerial reshuffle in 2015, Vanderpuye was named by John Dramani Mahama as Minister of Youth and Sports to replace Dr Mustapha Ahmed.
