Akwasi Addai Odike is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

businessman and politician.

Early life and education

Odike completed his secondary school education at Aduman Secondary school where he obtained the

GCE Ordinary Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

certificate. He later established as a business man running his own company, Odike Ventures in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

Politics

United Front Party

Odike was the candidate of the United Front Party for the Ghanaian presidential election in December 2012. He placed eighth out of eight contestants with 0.08% of the votes cast. A feud developed within the UFP. The main protagonists were Odike and

Nana Agyenim Boateng Nana Agyenim Boateng is a Ghanaian politician known as the flag bearer of the United Front Party. He is one of the candidates who was disqualified from contesting in the 2016 general elections by the Electoral Commission An election commiss ...

, chairman of the party. This led to dismissals and counter dismissals and some scuffles between both factions. The party contested the

2016 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President and Members of Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by Parliament. Former foreign minister Nana Akufo-Ad ...

but failed to win a single seat. Prior to that election, Addai Odike had been suspended for breaching the party's constitution in appointing his own son as the acting General Secretary.

United Progressive Party

Odike and Razak Kojo Opoku left the UFP and co-founded the United Progressive Party which was registered with the

Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana(EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Elec ...

(EC) in May 2015. In March 2019, he was sacked from the party due to ongoing differences. This sacking split the party into two factions, each claiming leadership of the party. After a period of disputes about who was the legitimate presidential candidate for the UPP, Odike announced that he was withdrawing from the contest. He proceeded to back

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

, then leader of the biggest opposition party, the NPP in the 2016 election. He was however critical of Nana Akufo-Addo in the run up to the 2020 election, accusing him of nepotism. Later, Odike again managed to become the party's nominee to stand for president in the

2020 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2020. Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was re-elected in the first round after securing a majority of the votes. Former President John Dramani Mahama says he ...

. He complained during the week candidates were submitting their forms to the Electoral Commission that various people including some from the Commission and some

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

(NPP) officials were preventing him from registering. This was denied by the chairman of the NPP,

Peter Mac Manu Peter Mac Manu (born 1953) is a Ghanaian politician. He was the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party from December 2005 to February 2010.He was made the Campaign manager for the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections which was held in ...

. Although he managed to file his nomination papers on schedule, he was disqualified from contesting the 2020 election by the Electoral Commission because his documents were not satisfactory. Odike expressed surprise and indicated that he was going to contest the decision. Some within his own party however suggested that he was disqualified because some party executives including Razak Kojo Opoku, co-founder of the party undermined him.

Notes

External links and sources

Akwasi Addai Odike's profile on Ghana Web
Living people 1964 births Candidates for President of Ghana {{Ghana-politician-stub