Otiko Afisa Djaba (born 21 January 1962) is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

politician. Her previous engagement was the National Women's Organizer for the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

. She was also the former minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.

Early life and education

Djaba was born on 21 January 1962 to Henry Kojo Djaba and Rosalind Sheita Bawa at Koforidua in the Eastern Region of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. She is the second of twenty-one siblings. Djaba attended Tamale Secondary School (now

Tamale Senior High School Tamale Senior High School formerly Government Secondary School, Tamale, Gbewaa Secondary School, and more recently Tamale Secondary School is a co-educational second cycle boarding school located at Education Ridge, a suburb of the Sagnarigu ...

). She holds a diploma in communications and marketing from an institution in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. She has also had training as a computer systems analyst from a college in the United Kingdom.

Political life

In 2008, Djaba contested the Bole Bamboi seat on the ticket of the NPP but lost to former president,

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...

and later became Women's Organizer of the New Patriotic Party. She was appointed Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in 2017. In August 2018, she was appointed Ghana's ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

but declined the offer.

Opposition to ministerial position

Minority legislators walked out of a voting process to approve Djaba's appointment as Gender, Children and Social Protection minister collectively stating that "they believe her temperament and attitude does not give

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

assurance that she will be able to better manage the affairs of Ghanaian children and women". Prior to the 2016 general election in Ghana, Djaba had called on her Gonja tribes-people to vote John Mahama out because he has not being faithful to them, describing him at a political rally in 2016 as “very wicked, incompetent and desperate". She maintained that her comments were non-provocative and that she did "not owe anybody an apology", continuing to insist on her use of the same language to describe the former president. Two other concerns were also raised by the opposition legislators: the first was about her violation of ''The Ghana National Service Scheme Act 426 section 7'' which mandates all university graduates do a compulsory one year national service to the country before taking public office. The second was around her reiterating the assertion that

Charlotte Osei Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei (born 1 February 1969) is the UN International Elections Commissioner, a Ghanaian lawyer and former chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana from 2015 until she was dismissed in June 2018 on grounds of financ ...

offered sexual favors to Mahama in exchange for her position as

Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana(EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Elec ...

chairperson. Despite opposition members walking out of the secret ballot, Djaba obtained 152 favorable votes in excess of the 50% required to secure her the position. Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba now hosts a Television Programme on TV3 dubbed “Let’s Talk Ability”

Personal life

Otiko is the big sister of former Deputy Transport Minister

Joyce Bawah Mogtari Joyce Bawah Mogtari is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Transport in Ghana. She is currently the special aide to the former president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama and the flag bearer for the National Democ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djaba, Otiko Afisa Living people 1966 births Government ministers of Ghana New Patriotic Party politicians Women government ministers of Ghana Tamale Senior High School alumni