Ayikoi Otoo Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Hon.
Nii Ayikoi Otoo
Order:18th
Office:Attorney General of Ghana
Term Start:1 February 2005
Term End:2006
President:John Agyekum Kufour
Predecessor:Papa Owusu-Ankomah
Successor:Joe Ghartey
Birth Place:Ghana
Nationality:Ghanaian
Party:New Patriotic Party
Occupation:High Commissioner
Profession:Lawyer

Nii Ayikoi Otoo is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He belongs to the New Patriotic Party.[1] He served as attorney general and Minister of Justice of Ghana in the John Agyekum Kufour administration. He was Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada.[2] He is the board chairman of Ghana Life Insurance Company(GLICO).[3]

Early life and education

Nii Ayikoi Otoo was born in Mamprobi, a town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, to E. K. A. Otoo and Emelia Otoo. He attended Ebenezer Secondary School in Accra and obtained his GCE Ordinary Level certificate. He had to move to Sekondi in the Western Region of Ghana so he could attend Fijai Secondary School. After obtaining his GCE Advanced Level certificate he was admitted to the University of Ghana in 1976 to pursue a degree in law. Upon completion in 1979, Nii Ayikoi Otoo enrolled at the Ghana School of Law. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 1981.

Working life

Ayikoi Otoo did his one-year mandatory national service and then sojourned to Nigeria. When he returned to Ghana, he was employed by Adamafio & Associates, a law firm in Accra where he worked for over 20 years. In the early 2000s, he started his own chambers called Otoo & Associates Leo Chambers at Laterbiokorshie in Accra.[4] He served as secretary and later as president of the Greater Accra Regional Bar Association for three consecutive terms, spanning between 1998 and 2001.[5] He worked with his learned colleague Nana Akuffo-Addo on the National Council of the Ghana Bar Association.[6] As a legal practitioner, Otoo handled a lot of high-profile cases which have been reported in the Ghana Law Reports and the Supreme Court of Ghana Law Reports.In the corporate, Otoo has served as a member of the Interim Management team of Sabat Motors, chairman of the board of directors of State Insurance Company (SIC). He is a fellow of the Ghana Institute of International Affairs.[7] He was made the board chairman of GLICO Groupe in 2022.

Political life

Ayikoi Otoo was appointed as the attorney general and minister of justice by President John Agyekum Kufour in 2005 to succeed Papa Owusu-Ankomah.[8] He ended his term as the minister in April 2006 after a ministerial reshuffle.[9] Hon. Joe Ghartey was named in his place.[10] He was chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the New Patriotic Party in 2010 and was a member of the party's vetting committee that vetted the presidential hopefuls for the 2011 primary.[5] In December 2011, Ga-Adangbe youth petitioned the leadership of the New Patriotic Party to consider making Ayikoi Otoo the running mate to the then Presidential candidate, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo.[5] Nana Akuffo-Addo eventually settled on Mahamudu Bawumia as his running mate.[11] In March 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appointed Ayikoi Otoo as Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada.[12] [13] He served in this position until 2021 when he was replaced by Anselm Ransford Sowah.[14]

In April 2022, Otoo announced his decision to contest to be elected as national chairman of the New Patriotic Party. He vowed to whip up ministers and other appointees to attend to the needs of party faithful. He also promised to uphold and allow party rules governing internal elections to work.[15] However, just days to the Party's National Delegates' Conference in July 2022, he announced his withdrawal from the race despite being cleared by the vetting committee for the contest.[16]

Personal life

Ayikoi Otoo is married to Patrica Otoo, with whom he has six children.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NDC Raps Ayikoi Otoo . Peace FM Online . 4 October 2013 . 15 June 2017.
  2. Web site: Nyabor . Jonas . Ayikoi Otoo, Gina Blay, 5 others given ambassadorial roles . 17 March 2017 . Ghana News . 26 April 2017.
  3. Web site: H.E. J. Ayikoi Otoo .
  4. Web site: Tawiah . Augustina . 27 November 2013 . Nii Ayikoi Otoo holds on to his childhood values . 15 June 2017 . Graphic Communications Group.
  5. Web site: News . Today . Gas root for Ayikoi Otoo . todaygh.com . Today News . 16 June 2017 . 9 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181121/http://www.todaygh.com/gas-root-for-ayikoi-otoo/ . dead .
  6. Web site: Group wants Ayikoi Otoo to parner Nana . GhanaWeb . en . 17 December 2011 . 18 December 2017.
  7. Web site: H.E. J. Ayikoi Otoo Board Chairman .
  8. Web site: Agenda . Public . 'Cold War' in NPP . GhanaWeb . 30 November 2001 . 16 June 2017.
  9. Web site: Web . Ghana . Kufuor restructures ministerial team . GhanaWeb . 30 November 2001 . 16 June 2017.
  10. Web site: Prof Lungu . Mr. Joe Ghartey Says Abolish the Ministry of Justice . GhanaWeb . 11 June 2008 . 16 June 2017.
  11. Web site: awumia is Akufo-Addo's best choice of running mate – Dr. Kwasi Jonah . 16 June 2017 . MyJoy Online.
  12. Web site: Ayikoi Otoo appointed High Commissioner to Canada . GhanaWeb . 17 March 2017 . 16 June 2017.
  13. Web site: 17 March 2017 . Anna Bossman, Ayikoi Otoo, others slated for ambassadorial appointments . 16 June 2017 . MyJoy Online.
  14. Web site: Former GCB Bank MD appointed as Ghana's Ambassador to Canada – Report .
  15. Web site: Ayikoi Otoo joins NPP Chairmanship race .
  16. Web site: Ayikoi Otoo withdraws from NPP chairmanship race . 6 July 2022 .