Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (born August 11, 1980) is a Ghanaian politician who is Member of Parliament for North Tongu. He was a deputy minister of state under both

John Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

and John Mahama.

Early life and education

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was born on 11 August 1980 and hails from

Aveyime-Battor Aveyime-Battor is a village in the North Tongu District in the Volta Region of Ghana. Geography The Volta River flows close to Aveyime-Battor on its way into the Atlantic Ocean. Education Aveyime-Battor is known for the Aveyime Battor Secondar ...

in the Volta Region of

Ghana 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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He is an old student of the Presbyterian Boys' Senior Secondary School - Legon ( Presec-Legon) also served as Vice President of the

scripture union Scripture Union (SU) is an international, interdenominational, evangelical Christian organization. It was founded in 1867, and works in partnership with individuals and churches across the world. The organization's stated aim is to use the Bible t ...

. He attended the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

, and had a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy between 2002 and 2006. At the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

, he had his Master of Arts in Communication Media, and Public Relations. Ablakwa also holds a certificate in Leadership from the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

of Governance, USA and a Master of Science in Defense and International Politics from the

Ghana Armed Forces The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military commander ...

Command and Staff

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

Politics

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is a Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He served as President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 2005 to 2006, whilst he was a student in the

. 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 A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

for Joint Action (CJA) a pro-masses pressure group. He is an Accredited Member (APR)of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) ,Ghana.

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. He retained his seat once again in the 2016 elections even though his party lost the Presidential Elections He has been a member of the appointments committee for two times now in 2017 and 2021. He is currently also the Ranking Member of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.

Deputy Minister of State

In his foray in national politics, he was a member of the then-candidate

John Evans Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

Campaign Communication Team and until his appointment as Deputy Minister for Information at the age of 28, under the presidency of the late

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

Honours

Awards

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa has received numerous awards including the TNG Corporate Excellence Awards - Accra, 2010, Outstanding Youth Leader in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

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). He has also been honored by the Mepe Traditional Council and the Tepa Traditional Council where he is known as the "Mmrantiehene."

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

Personal life

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

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 The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

Learning Initiative. She emerged as the overall best student at the circuit, district and regional levels.

References

External links

www.okudzetoablakwa.com
Official web page {{DEFAULTSORT:Okudzeto Ablakwa, Samuel Living people Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School alumni Ghanaian MPs 2013–2017 Ghanaian MPs 2017–2021 National Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians University of Ghana alumni Alumni of the University of Leicester 1980 births Ewe people Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025 21st-century Ghanaian politicians Cabinet Ministers of Ghana Education ministers of Ghana Information ministers of Ghana Ghanaian Christians People from Volta Region Harvard Kennedy School alumni