Sir Sam Joanh Is Predicted To Be John Mahama's Running Mate In The 2024 Elections.

The relationship between Sam Jonah and John Mahama has strengthened, with Mahama's younger sibling Ibrahim playing a significant role.

John Mahama (left) and Sam Jonah (right).
Sir Sam Jonah (73), a Ghanaian business magnate and the current Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, has emerged as a leading candidate for John Dramani Mahama's running mate nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

The National Democratic Congress elected the former president and the majority of their parliamentary candidates for the upcoming general elections last month.

The remaining major position is who will collaborate with John Mahama. Whoever obtains the position will be given the poll position to lead the party in 2024, regardless of whether or not the opposition party wins in 2024.

Sir Sam is among the names being considered by the NDC candidate, according to sources within the NDC and Mr. Mahama's campaign, who told Asaase News that Sir Sam is among the most likely candidates.

Since Sir Sam is not known as a card-carrying member of the party founded by the late John Jerry Rawlings, this may not sit well with some purists. Over the past decade, he had become Mr. Mahama's principal advisor and a significant facilitator of the NDC leader's international business network.

Possible choice
When contacted by Asaase News, a source close to Sir Sam expressed no astonishment at the news, adding that prior to the 2012 presidential election, attempts were made to pair the former CEO of the now-defunct Ashanti Gold with Mr. Mahama, but Sir Sam politely declined.

But their relationship has strengthened, with John Mahama's younger brother and businessman Ibrahim Mahama playing a significant role.

Mr. Jonah introduced the NDC's 2024 presidential candidate to his extensive network of contacts in the East Asian nation of South Korea just two weeks ago.

After winning the 2012 election with Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur as his running companion, Mr. Mahama lost to President Akufo-Addo in the 2016 elections with the same ticket.

In 2018, after the death of Mr. Amissah-Arthur, Mr. Mahama chose Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running companion for the 2020 elections, but the pair lost to the New Patriotic Party ticket of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

Description of Mr Jonah
Samuel Esson Jonah is a Ghanaian industrialist and the current Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, a Johannesburg, South Africa-based equity fund. Jonah was formerly the president of AngloGold Ashanti, where he and CEO Bobby Godsell shared strategic leadership.

Jonah earned his secondary school diploma from Adisadel College in Cape Coast, Ghana, an Associateship in Mining Engineering from the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, England, and an MSc in Mine Management from the Imperial College of Science and Medicine in London.

In 1979, he began working for Ashanti Goldfields Corporation in numerous capacities, including underground operations. At the age of 36, he was appointed CEO and oversaw the transformation of Ashanti Goldfields into a multinational mining corporation.

In over a decade, he increased gold production from 240,000 ounces per year to over 1.6 million ounces and supervised the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange as the first operating African company.

His diversified investment firm, Jonah Capital, is the second-largest shareholder in the pan-African microlender Bayport and the largest shareholder in Houses for Africa, a firm that has undertaken middle-class housing construction projects in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Nigeria, where it also provides financing.

In 2009, he joined Vodafone as a non-executive director. Jonah chairs the boards of Equator Exploration Ltd, Scharrig Mining, Equinox Minerals, Uramin, Moto Goldmines Ltd, and Range Resources Ltd. He is currently the Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.

He also serves or has served on the boards of Transnet, Mittal Steel SA, Ashesi University, Standard Bank of South Africa, Lonmin, the Commonwealth African Investment Fund (Comafin), the Advisory Council of the UN Secretary-General's Global Compact, President Olusegun Obasanjo's International Investment Advisory Council on Nigeria, President Thabo Mbeki's International Investment Advisory Council of South Africa, and President John Kufuor's Ghana Investors' Advisory Council.

In addition to his directorships, Jonah is a member of the London Business School's Advisory Board. 1996 saw Jonah receive an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc) degree from the Camborne School of Mines and the University of Exeter (UK).

Jonah House at his alma mater, Adisadel College, is named after his father, Thomas Jonah. In June 2003, Prince Charles presented Jonah with an honorary knighthood in recognition of his accomplishments as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth, and an international public figure. Jonah has been ranked among the wealthiest individuals in Ghana.