Education

NUGS congratulates its former presidents elected as Members of Parliament in 2024 elections

Okyere Darko 3 weeks ago

The leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has commended former Presidents of the Students Union elected as Members of Parliaments in the just-ended peaceful December 7, 2024, general elections.

In a social media post sighted by GhanaEducation.org, NUGS said “We are incredibly proud to celebrate the election of esteemed former Presidents of the National Union of Ghana Students elected Members of Parliament

Your dedication, leadership and unwavering commitment to the betterment of our community have truly paid off. We have no doubt that you will continue to inspire and lead with the same passion and integrity in your role.”

Below are former Presidents of NUGS

1. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu; Former NUGS President – 1997

2. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam; Former NUGS President – 1998

3. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Former NUGS President 2005/06

Profile of Hon. Haruna Iddrisu

Haruna Iddrisu born 8 September 1970 in Tamale is the Member of Parliament for Tamale South and the former Minister for Employment and Labour Relations in Ghana He is also currently the Minority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament.

He attended the University of Ghana between 1993 and 1997 where he obtained the B.A Hons in Sociology He was active in student politics and was the President of the National Union of Ghana Students during his final year. Iddrisu is also a barrister and has been a member of the Ghana Bar Association since 2002.

Haruna Iddrisu is the Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic in Ghana. Iddrisu has been the National Youth Organiser for the National Democratic Congress since 2002. He stood for parliament in the 2004 Parliamentary elections in the newly formed Tamale South constituency.

He retained his seat in the 2008 parliamentary elections. He has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama governments as well as Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014. He was appointed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations by President Mahama in July 2014.

Profile of Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga who replaced Ken Ofori-Atta as the finance minister in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuf-Addo’s second term government.

His nomination for the role was announced on February 14, 2024, as President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made changes in his government.

Amin Adam is one of the few appointees who served in the erstwhile John Agyekum Kufuor government. He held a deputy ministerial portfolio as far back as 2005.

Before assuming his role as the Minister of State, Hon. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam was the Deputy Minister for Energy responsible for the Petroleum Sector. He was appointed Deputy Regional Minister for the Northern Region in 2005.

Hon. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has worked extensively on extractive industries and resource management as a university lecturer, advisor on resource governance, and campaigner for transparency in resource management around the globe.

Prior to his role as the Deputy Minister for Energy, he was the founder and executive director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP). He also worked in other public and private organizations as an energy policy analyst at the Ministry of Energy in Ghana, Commissioner of the Ghana Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, and Africa Coordinator of extractive industries in Ibis, amongst many other positions.

Hon. Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam was educated at the Northern School of Business from 1988 to 1990. He holds a PhD in Petroleum Economics from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee in the UK, specializing in petroleum fiscal policy in resource-led economies and resource governance.

He also has an MPhil (Economics) and a B.A (Hons) Economics from the University of Cape Coast. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Certified Economists of Ghana (ICEG).

He has undertaken professional development training at Colombia University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Harvard University in the US. He is chairman of Ghana’s National Energy Transition Committee, chairman of the Gold for Oil Initiative and Chairman of the New Producers Group (a group of new oil and gas-producing countries in the World).

Profile of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa born August 11th 1980, is a Ghanaian politician and Member of Parliament for North Tongu in the Volta Region of Ghana. He was appointed a Deputy Minister of Information in the Republic of Ghana at the age of 28 under the presidency of the late ex-president John Evans Atta Mills. He is the immediate past Deputy Minister of Education. He is married to Nuhela Seidu and they have a daughter.

He was a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) a pro-masses pressure group, an author and a prolific writer. He was also a member of the team that drafted his party’s youth policies in the NDC’s manifesto for the 2008 campaign. Before all these, he had served as President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 2005 to 2006 and also served as Vice President of the scripture union.

In his foray in national politics, he was a member of the then-candidate John Evans Atta Mills Campaign Communication Team and until his appointment as Deputy Minister for Information served on the Government’s Transition Team.

He obtained an M.A in Communications from the University of Leicester, a B.A from the University of Ghana and a Certificate in Leadership from Harvard University.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was the Managing Director of SAAVI Solutions, a Member of Parliament from 2013 to 2016 as well as the Deputy Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister for Information.