2024 Elections: Mahama LikelyTo Choose Ekow Spio Gabrah As A Running Mate!
Some of the prominent names that may come under strong consideration include Dr Ekow Spio Gabra because Dr Spio and JDM have the longest working relationship.
Freeman Koryekpor 
The 2024 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who doubles as the former President, Mr John Dramani Mahama is likely choose the former Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekow Spio Gabra as running mate for the 2024 general elections.
Some of the prominent names that may come under strong consideration include Dr Ekow Spio Gabra because Dr Spio and JDM have the longest working relationship.
In a news item captured by Soireenews.com by the lobbyists in the camp of Dr. Spio, they pointed out that the former Trade Minister has strong ties within the party and outside the party with networks that could benefit Mahama in 2024 general elections.
"Honestly speaking, until you have the privilege to meet with Dr.Ekow Spio Gabrah to deliberate on issues pertaining to how this economy is being run and the ideas cum the strategies that he has under his sleeves, that he being the next Vice President to JDM," the noted.
According to them, We're sure of a secured economy as well as a stable one to be precise in the coming years.
"We know that chosing of the running mate is not by voting that we have to campaign for, but this is just to remind the stakeholders that matters most in this regard that, as we are sure Dr Ekow Spio Gabrah is part of their consideration, they should not forget about his fearless, strategic, management and the zeal of leadership skills that he possesses.
"We can never say that others that are being considered can't Man up enough to par with JDM to effectively run the economy," they said.
They reiterated that Dr Spio and JDM has the longest relationship working together, and per where we stand we thought it wise that they will make the best per come 2024.
PROFILE of Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah
Born in 1953 in Ghana, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah is one of Africa’s most international accomplished public servants and corporate executives, with vast experience on a number of corporate boards. He served as Ghana’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister of Communications, Minister of Education and Acting Minister of Mines & Energy.
From 1994 to 1996 he served Ghana’s ambassador to the United States and Mexico. A graduate of the University of Ghana, Ohio University and New York University, Ekwow has served as the CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) based in London. He is a former member of UNESCO’s Executive Board and former director of publicly listed firms such as South Africa Telekom, AngloGold Ashanti and Vodacom.
He was recently appointed the Honorary Counsel and Chairman of the Advisory Group of the African Public Relations Association. He is currently Executive Chairman of The African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE), a West Africa based education mentoring NGO. He has been involved in tree crop farming for the last 20 years cultivating cashew, mango, and oil-palm, avocado and pineapple.
Oct 2015—Present: Chairman, Pan African Trade Hubs System (PATHS), founded and lead the development of a multi-country commercial e-commerce, e-procurements and e-payments enterprise aimed at promoting intra-African trade and economic development in Africa.
Oct. 2014—January 2017: Chairman, Brand Ghana Council, led a high-level panel in the process of developing policies, strategies and plans to promote the “Ghana” brand domestically and internationally.
Oct 2014—January 2017: Chairman, the Made-in-Ghana Committee, overseeing an inter-ministerial group charged with promoting produces and services that are made in Ghana, both domestically and internationally.
Oct 2014—January 2017: Chairman, Ghana Free Zones Board, supervised Board oversight of operations of Ghana’s special economic ad export zones programme, including management of land and property, licensing, compliance, budget and finance, and human resources and administration.
Oct. 2009—Jan 2017: Non-Executive Director, AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Ltd. Provide significant input into Board decisions on a range of multimillion dollar infrastructure investments and other operational policies, and management oversight.
Oct 2014—January 2017: Chairman, Ministerial Tender Committee, Ministry of Trade and Industry, responsible for ensuring compliance with laws, regulations and procedures related to the procurement of goods and services for the Ministry.
Oct. 2011 to 2014: Member, International Advisory Board, 4G Africa, Zurich, Switzerland. Helped in promoting greater access to high-speed broadband in Africa by advising leading Swiss-based company on its infrastructure investments and broadband operations in 4G/LTE telecoms networks in Africa.
Sept. 2010 to Oct. 2012: Chairman, Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation Ventures (CTO-V) Ltd, London, UK. Provided Board leadership, strategic oversight and policy direction to the commercial subsidiary of the CTO, an inter-governmental development organisation. Chaired and led a multinational Board of eminent ICT personalities drawn from some 9 countries in the development and promotion of new commercial ICT infrastructure products. Ensured good corporate governance, policy development, and the operational and financial oversight of an agile commercial entity
September 2007—June 2012: Non-Executive Director, Telkom SA and Vodacom, SA, and Chairman, Strategy and Investment Committee, Telkom, SA. Led the Board’s strategic planning and oversight process. Given authority to approve up to USD 1 billion in new investments. Acquired knowledge of M&A and major corporate transactions in the telecom sector, including for fixed-line, mobile, datacentre and broadband infrastructure. Recognised in South African corporate circles and by the mass media for independent, analytical thinking.
September 2003 to Sept 2011: Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, London. First African to lead a 110-year-old inter-governmental organisation of 50 nations of the Commonwealth. Provided the vision, defined the mission, and developed and implemented strategic plans, resource mobilisation, finance and budgeting, human performance management of the organisation. Travelled to some 45 countries on 5 continents to promote telecoms, broadband, ICT and Internet initiatives.
October 2010–Present: Ambassador, Global Entrepreneurship Week. Involved in initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in Africa, and a member of panels of judges who identify winning businesses during global Start-Up weekend for new enterprises.
September 2009—Present: Founding Chairman, African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE), a mentorship organisation, mobilising alumni of secondary and tertiary institutions in Africa back to the classrooms to prepare the next generation for an era based especially on entrepreneurship and ICT knowledge, including internships, attachments, scholarships, excursions and industry days.
October 2010–2019: Founding Chairman of the African Cancer Organisation, a pan-African NGO focussed on mobilising public awareness of the growing incidence of cancer in Africa, through funding research, advocacy, publicity and screening/prevention programs.
H. E. Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah and H. E. Paul Kagame of Rwanda
Dr. Spio-Garbrah, as Minister of Education, with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife, Nane
Presenting his credentials as Ambassasor of Ghana to U. S. President Bill Clinton in the White House
Jan 2012—Aug 2013: Ag. President, Dominion University College (DUC), and member of the DUC Governing Council. Led the academic, administrative and student body of a new private University in Ghana, including direct oversight of strategic decisions on all investments, and central coordination of the work of the Governing Council.
October 2011–October 2013: Chief Executive Officer, Action Chapel International, (ACI) Accra, Ghana. First CEO of a leading Christian church headquartered in Ghana with some 200 branches and affiliates in some 20 countries worldwide. Responsible for all strategic planning, budgeting and financial oversight, human resources and facilities management, and stakeholder and institutional relationships.
Nov. 2011 to Dec. 2012: Special Advisor, Africa, Public Security Innovation Centre, the Hague, Netherlands. Supported business development efforts in Africa of some 50 Dutch ICT companies specialising in cyber-security products and ICT infrastructure services.
Nov. 2011 to Dec. 2012: Special Advisor, Industry and Government Relations, Ericsson, Sub-Saharan Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Provided external relations, policy, regulatory, legislative, legal/judiciary and opinion management services to Ericsson’s Sub-Saharan headquarters and field staff.
Oct 2011 to Dec 2012: Senior Advisor, Africa, for Fusion Telecommunications, New York City, USA. Initiated business development services for fast-growing company that focuses on sales and re-sales of telephone traffic, based on differentials in tariffs and interconnection rates amongst ICT companies.
January 2001 to September 2003: Chief Executive Officer, Spio-Garbrah & Associates. Provided consultancy and advisory services to a number of clients in business development, investment planning, resource mobilisation and corporate and marketing communications.
December 1998 to January 2001: Minister of Education for the Republic Of Ghana. Provided policy, strategic planning and managerial leadership and direction for all educational activities in Ghana, supervising some 180,000 teachers, 30,000 workers, and the academic progress of some 3 million students in some 20,000 institutions.
Concurrently, Member, UNESCO Governing Council, Paris, France; and Chairman, Value Added Tax (VAT) Service Board.
October to December 1999: Concurrently, Minister responsible for Mines and Energy. Provided strategic leadership and managed public investments and complex financial transactions in the power, oil and gas, mineral development sectors of the economy, involving several large mining, energy and power infrastructure projects.
July 1997 to December 1998: Minister of Communications of the Republic of Ghana. First Ghanaian minister of a converged ministry responsible for telecoms, IT, postal services, meteorology and public information and broadcasting. Concurrently, was
Acting Chairman, Ghana National Communications Authority, the ICT regulatory agency.
June 1994 to June 1997: Ambassador of Ghana to the USA and Mexico, Washington DC USA. Youngest-ever Ghanaian Ambassador to the USA (aged 40), initiated, directed and managed programmes that fostered closer political, diplomatic, economic, business and cultural ties between Ghana and the United States, and Ghana and Mexico. Helped promote US investments in power infrastructure, construction, mining and agribusiness sectors of Ghana.
August 1991 to June 1994: Head of Communication, African Development Bank, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Attained deep understanding of the complexities of project finance, especially in emerging markets. Directed the global communication planning, external relations strategy and programme management of this $33 billion African multilateral institution, and acted as Institutional Spokesman, fluency in French.
June 1988 to August 1991: Corporate Relations Officer, International Finance Corporation, (The World Bank Group), Washington DC. Acquired in-depth knowledge of all aspects of corporate finance, M&A and investment decision-making, while managing an extensive range of corporate and marketing communications programs to promote private investment in the 135-member countries of the IFC.
African Business Communication (ABC), is an international corporate and marketing communications consultancy firm. It focuses on C-Suite, CEO and Board-level only advisory services, based in Accra, Ghana with a global practice.
