Hassan Ayariga (born 4 September 1972) is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He is the founder of the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...

(APC) and was the candidate of the People's National Convention for the December 2012 presidential election.

Early life and education

Ayariga spent his childhood in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

and

Bawku Bawku is a town and is the capital of the Bawku Municipal District, district in the Upper East region of north Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Bawku has a 2012 settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community ...

, moving to Nigeria with his parents after the overthrow of the Limann administration. He attended Ghana Secondary School in Tamale and then in Nigeria

Barewa College Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

. He later studied accounting at the London School of Accountancy and earned a PhD from

Atlantic International University Atlantic International University, Inc. (AIU) is an unaccredited private for-profit distance learning university based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was founded in December 1998 as Atlantic University, Inc.

, an American distance learning university.

Politics

In the presidential primaries of the People's National Convention (PNC) for the 2016 general election, Ayariga lost to

Edward Mahama Edward Nasigrie Mahama (born 15 April 1945) is a Ghanaian medical doctor and politician. Early life and education Born in the village of Sumniboma (northern Ghana) in 1945, Mahama attended Nalerigu Primary and Middle School from 1953 to 1959. H ...

, whom he had beaten to become presidential candidate in 2012. Citing anomalies and cheating, he left the party to form a new party, the All People’s Congress (APC), in 2016. The

Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana(EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members, its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 Ghana constitution. The current commission was established by the Elec ...

handed the party a provisional certificate after he met the requisite requirements, and it has since been granted a final certificate.

Personal life

His father,

Frank Abdulai Ayariga Frank Asumah Abdulai Ayariga was the first Member of Parliament for Bawku during the Third Republic of Ghana. Politics Ayariga was a member of the People's National Party which was also formed the government in power between 1979 and 1981. Foll ...

, was a member of parliament for the Bawku Constituency during the third republic administration of

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served the President of Ghana from 24 September 1979 to 31 December 1981. He served as a diplomat in Lome, Togo and Geneva, Switzerland. Education ...

and his mother, Anatu Ayariga, a business woman. His younger brother

Mahama Ayariga Mahama Ayariga (born 12 May 1974) is a lawyer and politician in Ghana. He belongs to the National Democratic Congress. He was the Minister of Information and Media Relations and the Minister of Youth and Sports under the John Dramani Mahama admi ...

is Minister for Youth and Sports (2015) as well as Member of Parliament for

Bawku Central Bawku Central is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Bawku Central is located in the Bawku Municipal district of the Upper East ...

Constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. Hassan Ayariga lived and worked in Germany for many years and has business interests in both Ghana and Germany. He is married with a children and one in Germany.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayariga, Hassan 1971 births Living people People's National Convention (Ghana) politicians People from Upper East Region Candidates for President of Ghana All People's Congress (Ghana) politicians Ghana Senior High School (Tamale) alumni