Rita Naa Odoley Sowah

Rita Naa Odoley Sowah became the first woman to win La Dade-Kotopon in 2020 and has been a Deputy Minister for Local Government under President Mahama since March 2025.

From secretary to MCE

She was born on 2 July 1968 and is a Ga from La. Her early jobs were clerical: she typed for the Fisheries Commission's premix fuel secretariat, keyed in data for what is now the National Lottery Authority, and ran the office of the area's MP. From 2013 to 2017 she was the first Municipal Chief Executive of the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly, and she was treasurer of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana.

Parliament and government

In 2020 she beat the NPP's Joseph Gerald Tetteh Nyanyofio by 47,606 votes to 41,101 and took her seat on 7 January 2021, sitting on the youth, sports and culture and the gender and children committees. Nominated as deputy minister in February 2025, she told the vetting committee that the money promised to assembly members would be an allowance, not a salary. In July 2025 she launched that year's Chieftaincy Awards. She is a Christian.