‘It’s our time to lead’ – Former Miss Ghana to contest PPP flagbearer race

The 2016 vice presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Brigitte Dzogbenuku, is the latest to launch her presidential bid as she filed nomination to contest the flagbearer slot of the party.

She enters the race as the first female presidential aspirant of the PPP. It comes after the party’s founder, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, decided not to contest this time round.

Four others also picked nomination forms for the slot, however, only Ms. Dzogbenuku and Mr. William Dowokpor, the party’s former parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, met the filing deadline.

Addressing the press after she filed her bid, the former beauty queen said: “I am a woman. Globally, and internationally, it is our time to lead”.

“We can see, and, as research has proven, that women make better leaders in times of crises”, she said.

“Look at countries that have successfully battled and won the fight against COVID-19, almost all of them have women leaders”, she pointed out.

She also observed that: “We have given men the chance since independence in Ghana” and, so, “It may be time to give women a chance to lead with our unique qualities and abilities and it is time to begin to understand the strength of a woman and the important role they play in this country”.

The 1991 Miss Ghana winner was, for 12 years, the General Manager of the Aviation Social Centre, a fitness and recreational center in Accra.

She is also the Executive Director of Mentoring Women Ghana (MWG), an organization she founded, which runs mentoring programmes that empower young women and girls into leadership and into making a difference in their communities.

Ms. Dzorgbenuku also serves on the School of Languages Management Committee of the University of Ghana.

It is unclear if the filing deadline would extended for the other three aspirants to also file. However, this is subject to the outcome of a National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, 24 August 2020, at which meeting the date for the party’s Congress will be held.