The Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Abdulai Ayariga, has praised President John Dramani Mahama’s government for giving young people the opportunity to serve in key positions.
According to Mr Ayariga, the youthful nature of the current administration shows that young people have the ability to contribute to good governance and national development when given the chance.
He made the remarks on Wednesday, August 12, during the second day of the 2026 National Youth Conference held at the KNUST Great Hall in Kumasi.
Mr Ayariga called on other African leaders to learn from President Mahama’s approach to involving young people in government.
“His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has shown to the entire world what young people can do when given the opportunity,” he said.
He explained that youth participation in leadership should not only be about having young people in government but should also focus on their ability to deliver results for the people.
Mr Ayariga said President Mahama’s decision to appoint what he described as one of the youngest governments in Africa had shown positive results.
“I think that African leaders need to emulate and copy the traits and character of President Mahama for having one of the youthful or most youthful governments in Africa, and that government is performing and performing excellently well,” he stated.
The NYA CEO also urged young people who are given leadership opportunities to act responsibly, stressing that their conduct could affect opportunities available to other young people.
He said young leaders could either create more opportunities for the youth or make it difficult for others to receive similar opportunities depending on how they perform.
“To the youth, when given that opportunity, you can open more doors for other youth to be given opportunities or you can shut it based on how we conduct ourselves,” he added.
