Ghana was in a frenzy mood when President John Mahama was sworn in in Accra, the capital of the country, on Tuesday.
At the centre of attraction was 73-year-old newly sworn-in Vice-President Professor Jane Opoku-Agyemang.
Opoku-Agyemang made history as the first elected female VP in the country’s history.
The inauguration was attended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye; Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traore; Kenyan President William Ruto; President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon’s Brice Oligui Nguema and other dignitaries across all walks of life.
At the ceremony, Mahama, who served as president from 2012 to 2017, promised to “reset” Ghana, renegotiate parts of the IMF deal and introduce a “24-hour” economy to create jobs, a major concern for many younger voters.
However, in this report, PUNCH Online highlights the major things to know about the newly sworn-in Vice President who made history as the first female to hold the office.
1. Professor Jane Opoku-Agyemang was born on November 22, 1951.
2. She attended Anglican Girls’ School at Koforidua and Aburi Presby Girls’ School. She then had her secondary education at the Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast from 1964 to 1971.
3. She completed B.Ed.(Hons) in English and French at the University of Cape Coast in 1977.
4. She earned a Diploma in Advanced Studies in French from the University of Dakar and obtained her master’s degree and Doctorate degrees from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1980 and 1986, respectively.
5. She served as the country’s Minister of Education from February 2013 to January 2017.
6. She is a full professor of Literature.
7. She served as the first female Vice-Chancellor of a state university in Ghana before taking over as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast.
8. In March 2007, she was one of five scholars selected to deliver presentations during the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
9. In October 2009, she was elected Ghana’s representative to the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
10. Ahead of the 2012 general elections, Jane Opoku Agyemang moderated the debate with Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
11. In the December 2020 Ghanaian presidential election, she was selected by John Mahama as his running mate on the NDC party ticket.
12. After she lost the election, she returned to the classroom and in August 2024, she resigned as the Vice-Chencellor of the Women’s University in Africa in Zimbabwe to join politics.
13. She was selected again as running mate to Mahama in 2024 and won, becoming the first female Vice President of Ghana.
(PUNCH)