NPP's Dr Ekua Amoakoh Opens Up on Family's Deep Political Roots and Medical Legacy

Dr Ekua Amoakoh, spokesperson for NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and head of the party's Health Committee, has disclosed that her family's connection to the New Patriotic Party stretches back to its earliest days, with her grandmother serving as one of the party's founding members and pioneering treasurers in the Ashanti Region.

Speaking during a personality profile interview on JoyNews' PM Express with Emefa Adeti, Dr Amoakoh reflected on the profound influence her grandmother wielded during her formative years. She spent considerable time with her grandmother whilst growing up—a period that coincided with her mother's further studies at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA)—and credits those years with shaping much of her worldview and values.

"My grandma is a founding member of the NPP. She was one of the first people to be treasurer in Ashanti Region. She is a council of elders," Dr Amoakoh explained, highlighting her grandmother's prominent role in the party's organisational structure during its formative period.

From Nursing Director to Political Influence

Beyond her political involvement, Dr Amoakoh's grandmother carved out a distinguished career in healthcare. She served as Director of Nursing at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, the same institution where Dr Amoakoh herself spent part of her childhood. This convergence of medicine and public service appears to have set the template for the younger generation's career trajectory.

It was within this environment of professional excellence and civic responsibility that Dr Amoakoh's parents encouraged her to pursue a medical career. Though she initially resisted the idea and even questioned her choice after enrolling in medical school, she has since embraced the rigorous discipline and formative experience that medical training provides.

"I'm glad they insisted because even if it's not something you are going to practice or something you are going to use, that whole process of training, I think it can forge any person into a formidable person," she reflected during the interview.

Why It Matters for Ghana

Dr Amoakoh's account illuminates the intricate network of family, politics, and professional service that has shaped Ghana's political and healthcare landscapes over decades. The NPP, established in 1992, draws from Ghana's Danquah-Busia-Dombo political tradition—a lineage rooted in post-colonial nationalist politics. Her grandmother's role as a founding member and early treasurer in Ashanti Region—traditionally a stronghold for the party—underscores the importance of regional organisational structures in Ghana's political development.

Moreover, the intersection of her grandmother's dual roles as a pioneering healthcare professional and influential party organiser reflects a pattern common among Ghana's mid-twentieth-century elite: the merging of professional expertise with political engagement. This background likely informs Dr Amoakoh's current work bridging healthcare policy and political advocacy within the NPP.

Her prominence as the party's health spokesperson, combined with her personal medical background and family history of public service, positions her within a generational continuum of technocratic engagement in Ghanaian politics—a trend increasingly visible as political parties seek expertise-driven candidates and advisers.