Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

Hon.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
MP
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for North Tongu
Incumbent
Assumed office
2009
Deputy Minister for Education
In office
2013–2017
PresidentJohn Dramani Mahama
Succeeded byYaw Osei Adutwum
Deputy Minister for Information
In office
2009–2013
PresidentJohn Evans Atta Mills
Succeeded byFelix Kwakye Ofosu
Personal details
Born (1980-08-11) 11 August 1980 (age 44)
Aveyime-Battor, Ghana
Political partyNational Democratic Congress
SpouseNuhela Seidu
Alma materUniversity of Ghana
CommitteesForeign Affairs Committee Appointments Committee

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (born 11 August 1980) is a Ghanaian politician and a Member of Parliament for North Tongu.[1][2][3][4][5] He was a deputy minister of state under both John Atta Mills and John Mahama.[6][7]

Early life and education

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was born on 11 August 1980 and hails from Aveyime-Battor in the Volta Region of Ghana.[8] He is an old student of the Presbyterian Boys' Senior Secondary School - Legon (Presec-Legon)[9] and also served as Vice President of the scripture union.

He attended the University of Ghana, and had a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy between 2002 and 2006. At the University of Leicester, he had his Master of Arts in Communication Media, and Public Relations.[8][10]

Ablakwa also holds a certificate in Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance, USA and a Master of Science in Defense and International Politics from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College.[1]

Politics

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is a Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).[11] He served as President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 2005 to 2006, whilst he was a student in the University of Ghana. He was also a member of the team that drafted his party's youth policies in the NDC's manifesto for the 2008 campaign. He was a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) a pro-masses pressure group. He is an Accredited Member (APR)of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana.[12]

Member of Parliament

Ablakwa entered politics at an early age of 28 when he contested for the parliamentary elections for the North Tongu seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress in 2008. He won the seat by a 78.6% of the votes cast. He again won the seat in the 2012 elections by a larger number, representing 90.5% of the votes cast.[13] He retained his seat once again in the 2016 elections even though his party lost the Presidential Elections [14] Since 2017, he has been a member of the appointments committee. He is also the Ranking Member on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.[15]

Deputy Minister of State

In his foray in national politics, he was a member of the then - candidate John Evans Atta Mills Campaign Communication Team until his appointment as Deputy Minister for Information at the age of 28, under the presidency of the late John Atta Mills.[16] He served on Government's Transition Team as Acting Secretary. Ablakwa served as Deputy Minister for Education in charge of Tertiary Education under then Minister of Education Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang under the John Dramani Mahama Government.[17][18][19][6][20]

In August 2023, Ablakwa claimed he is planning a massive demonstration in Ghana dubbed 'Enough of the Looting Demo'.[21]

Okudzeto Ablakwa officially opened residences for 300 Akosombo Dam spill victims.

On 10 February 2024, Mr. Ablakwa inaugurated a safe housing project for flood victims who had been displaced off.[22] He stated that the project, which was launched by former President John Dramani Mahama, will assist those affected by the Akosombo Dam disaster in obtaining a roof over their heads.

On 15 September 2023, the Volta River Authority (VRA) began releasing water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams as a result of a steady increase in the Akosombo reservoir's water level and inflow pattern.[23]

Honours

Awards

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa has received numerous awards including the TNG Corporate Excellence Awards - Accra, 2010, Outstanding Youth Leader in West Africa by the West Africa Students' Union (WASU) - Kaduna, Nigeria 2009, Special Alumnus Award by the National Union of Ghana Students' (NUGS) - 2009, Old Vandal Award - 2008, Award of recognition by the Volta Hall JCR of the University of Ghana – 2005 and a special Fellow of the Private University Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG).[24][25] He has also been honored by the Mepe Traditional Council and the Tepa Traditional Council where he is known as the "Mmrantiehene".[12]

Employment

Deputy Minister of Information, 2009-2013 (Government of Ghana).

Deputy Minister of Education, 2013-2016 (Government of Ghana).

Member of Parliament, 2009 - till date (Office of Parliament).

Saavi Solutions, managing director (2007-2009).[1]

Chairman of the Board of Trustees - Ghana Christian International High School (2023)

Taught at Kwahuman International

Personal life

He is married to Nuhela Seidu, daughter of Mumuni Abudu Seidu a legal practitioner and they have a daughter and a son.[26][27][28] He is a Christian.[29] He has an uncle Sam Okudzeto, who is the founder of Sena Chartered Secretaries Limited.[30]

Philanthropy

In August 2022, he granted a full scholarship to Samelia Mekporsigbe, an 8-year old class 3 pupil of Battor DA Primary School. She won the 2022 Volta Regional Competition organized by USAID Learning Initiative. She emerged as the overall best student at the circuit, district and regional levels.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Parliament of Ghana". Parliament Of Ghana. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Ablakwa on why Act 463 should be amended to place a cap on number of political appointees". Graphic Online. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Okudzeto Ablakwa donates towards COVID-19". Graphic Online. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Let's stop public officials from seeking medical care abroad – Ablakwa". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. ^ Kissi, Ernest; Offei, Isaac; Boateng, Emmanuel; Badu, Edward (31 December 2016). "Networking for knowledge capacity building of procurement professionals in Ghana". International Journal of Construction Supply Chain Management. 6 (2): 34–47. doi:10.14424/ijcscm602016-34-47. ISSN 1179-0776.
  6. ^ a b Adjorlolo, Ruth Abla. "Deputy Minister condemns students' actions". Gbc Ghana. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Stop cutting power supply to schools – Ablakwa to ECG". Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  10. ^ Baarffour (Devarsh), Asare Michael (5 February 2023). "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa Biography: Age, Political Career, Education And Family". Ghana Education News. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  11. ^ Coverghana.com.gh (27 March 2022). "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: Biography, Profile, age, political career, education and family". Coverghana. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Ghana MPs - MP Details - Ablakwa, Okudzeto Samuel". GhanaMps. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Ghana Election 2016 Results - North Tongu Constituency". Ghana Elections - Peace FM. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  15. ^ "'Don't treat Ghanaian migrants as criminals'". Graphic Online. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  16. ^ Arthur, Portia (18 June 2015). "Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, before going into politics". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  17. ^ Dogbevi, Emmanuel (2 October 2016). "Government to speedup passage of Tertiary Education Research Fund". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Government And UG Have Cordial Relationship-Minister". News Ghana. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  19. ^ Yeboah, Paul Y. A. "UMaT is the Most Compliant Public University in Ghana". umat.edu.gh. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Ablakwa Lauds IUCG's Excellence and the Quality of its Graduates". IUCG. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  21. ^ Kwafo, Eric Nana Yaw (1 August 2023). "Ablakwa to lead 'Enough of the Looting Demo' after fingering Gabby Otchere-Darko in GHS187.3m scandal". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  22. ^ Johnson, Reymond Awusei (11 February 2024). "Okudzeto Ablakwa unveils homes for 300 Akosombo Dam Spillage victims". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Okudzeto Ablakwa set to inaugurate homes for 300 victims of Akosombo Dam spillage".
  24. ^ "Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: The distinguished gentleman of Ghana politics". GhanaRemembers. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  25. ^ pappy (17 April 2016). "GHANA TERTIARY STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2016". Pappy's Space. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  26. ^ Aklorbortu, Priscilla (2 November 2020). "5 photos of the wife of North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa". Yen - Ghana news. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  27. ^ Tali, Selorm (24 December 2020). "Okudzeto Ablakwa shares rare photos of his beautiful wife to celebrate her birthday". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  28. ^ Annang, Evans (27 July 2022). "Okudzeto Ablakwa celebrates wife as she bags Master's Degree in Law". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  29. ^ "Parliament of Ghana". Parliament Of Ghana. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  30. ^ "How Nana Akomea 'forced' Ablakwa to reveal uncle's links to National Cathedral role". GhanaWeb. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  31. ^ "8-year-old earns full scholarship and GH¢3,000 from Okudzeto Ablakwa". GhanaWeb. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  32. ^ Kamasah, Andreas (5 August 2022). "8-year-old gets scholarship, Tablet and 3k from Ablakwa for winning reading competition". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 7 August 2022.