Cletus Avoka has said he will not run for the Zebila seat again in 2024. He has been in office for 24 years.
He says that he is stepping down to give younger people in his district a chance to run for office.
In a private interview with Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese of GhanaWeb, he said:
“I have run for office in all eight elections in this Parliament. By the end of 2024, I will have been in Parliament for 24 years, and I think some young men and women in the constituency have come of age.” I’ve learned enough about the district to know that if I step down and a younger person takes my place, that person will be helped and do well.
Avoka also said that, even though he will still be strong and mentally sharp, it was time for someone else to take his place. He said that he was ready to help his replacement with what he had learned.
The politician also said that people have had different opinions about his plans to leave parliament, with some saying he should stay an MP and others saying it’s a step in the right direction.
“Others think I’ve done enough for my constituents and that it’s time for me to step down now that I’m very strong. Others think I should stay in parliament because of my experience there. Even though some of them aren’t happy, my constituents are happy that I’m leaving in a high position.
Cletus Avoka is one of the members of parliament who has been there the longest.
He was in the first parliament from 1993 to 2005, when he lost his seat to the late John Ndebugri. At the time, the area was called Bawku West constituency.
In 2009, he ran again and became the second MP for Zebilla.
From 2000 to 2004, Cletus Avoka was also the MP for Garu Tempane.
In 2000, he was elected as a member of parliament for the Upper East Region of Ghana’s Garu-Tempane constituency.
He won that election for the Upper East Region even though he was running as an independent.
His first job as a minister was in the government of Jerry Rawlings, where he was Minister for Lands and Forestry and Minister for the Interior.