Immediate Past Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, Dan Kwaku Botwe has been named as the National Campaign Chairman of Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia’s campaign team.
The outgoing MP for Okere brings to the team, a wealth of political experience and an incredible communications and managerial skills.
It is believed from reliable sources that, Mr. Botwe offered to be relieved from his role as Minister for Local Government to enable him focus on heading the campaign. It is also one of the reasons why he didn’t run for re-election in 2024 Parliamentary elections.
Having played an instrumental role in the election of President Kufuor in 2000, he is expected to bring similar energy to team to ensure the realization of the NPP’s “Breaking the 8” mantra.
Dr. Bawumia will officially present his campaign team to the National Executives Committee of the NPP on Monday, 19th February 2024.
PROFILE OF DAN BOTWE
Daniel Kweku Botwe, a Ghanian ICT specialist and politician was born February 26, 1958 at Abiriw in the Eastern Region. He is the Member of Parliament for Okere constituency in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
He was enrolled at the Presbyterian Primary and Middle Schools at Mabang in the Ahafo-Ano of the Ashanti Region for his primary education.He obtained his GCE Ordinary Level certificate at Kumasi Academy, and his GCE Advanced Level certificate in 1977 from Achimota School. He gained admission into the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.
While at KNUST, he was elected as the national secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students from 1982 to 1983. His election coincided with the beginning of the military rule led by the Provisional National Defence Council.
His activism and criticism of the ruling elite resulted in him being targeted as a troublemaker. He was sentenced to exile with other Ghanaians to the Ivory Coast. He later returned to Ghana to take up an appointment as a computer analyst.
Dan Botwe contested and won the New Patriotic Party General Secretary election in 1998.
He was instrumental in the election of John Kuffour as President of Ghana in the 2000 general elections. He served in various other capacities in the party including the National Treasurer of the Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party, and Director of Operations and Research at the National Headquarters. He served as Minister of Communications in the John Agyekum Kuffour administration.
He contested in the parliamentary election as MP for Okere District in 2008 after the incumbent, Bradford Kwame Daniel Adu, had decided to step down as the constituency’s parliamentarian.
Botwe obtained 11,974 votes out of the 19,684 total votes cast, representing 60.8% of the vote, to become the new Member of Parliament. He went on to win two successive parliamentary elections in 2012 and 2016. As MP he has contributed to the development of his constituency in several ways. In 2017, he became the Minister for Regional Reorganization and Development in the Nana Akuf-Addo administration where he oversaw the creation and the development of the 6 additional regions of Ghana.
He became the Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development in the second term of President Akufo-Addo until the recent cabinet reshuffle.
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