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 administration. He is currently the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central.[1]

Hon

Mahama Ayariga
Member of the Ghana Parliament
for Bawku Central
Assumed office
Jan 2013
Preceded byAdamu Daramani
Majority4,989
Personal details
Born (1974-05-12) 12 May 1974
Bawku, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
Political partyNational Democratic Congress
RelationsFrank Abdulai Ayariga
Hassan Ayariga
Alma materUniversity of Ghana
Harvard Law School
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and education

Ayariga was born in Bawku in the Upper East Region of Ghana. He was educated in Ghana and Nigeria and the United States of America. He attended the Barewa College in Zaria in Kaduna State, Nigeria. He holds a Master of Law (LLM) degree from the Harvard Law School in the United States of America and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) Degree from University of Ghana, Legon.

He started his career as a Teaching Assistant in Natural Resources Law and International Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana. He also co-founded and was the Executive Director of the Legal Resources Centre, an organization to promote human rights, community development and social justice.[2]

Ayariga's older brother Ayariga Hassan was the presidential candidate of the People's National Convention (Ghana) for the 2012 General Elections in Ghana.,[3]

Political career

Ayariga was the member of Ghana's parliament for the Bawku Central constituency from 2005 but lost his seat in the 2008 Elections to Adamu Dramani Sakande of the NPP. The seat became vacant when Adamu was convicted and jailed by a court for having stood for the election while being the citizen of another country which is against the Ghana constitution.[4] Ayariga recaptured the seat in the 2012 General Elections.[5]

In 2009 when Prof John Evans Atta Mills won the elections, Ayariga became the Presidential Spokesman before he was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Education.[6]

Mahama Ayariga was nominated for appointment as Minister for Information by President John Dramani Mahama in January 2013.[7] Mahama Ayariga serves on the Appointments Committee of Ghana 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic.[8]

Controversy

He Accused Hon. Boakye Agyarko a nominee for the Energy Ministry of paying the minority caucus on the committee bribes for his approval.[9] An AD-HOV committee was set up by the speaker investigated and submitted its report to parliament on March 29, 2017. The report claims Mahama Ayariga could not substantiate his accusation against Mr. Agyarko and therefore should unconditionally render apology to the house.[10][11] In 2019, there have been controversies about him facing a court trial as it is perceived he has done some wrong to be litigated on in the High Court though there has been some resistance, the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye on June 4, 2019 ruled that, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, be released to stand trial at the High Court (Financial Court) to begin the necessary proceedings against him.[12] In June 2020 the Speaker of Parliament rejected Mahama Ayariga's challenging the Electoral Commission’s decision to make the Ghana card and passports the sole valid identification for registering to vote in the 2020 elections.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. "We're ready to debate Minority on their call for rejection of C.I 126 - Majority Leader". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana, Current Affairs, Business News , Headlines, Ghana Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Articles, Opinions, Viral Content. 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  2. "Education Stakeholders Meeting Speaker Biographies". IDP Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  3. Naatogmah, Abdul Karim (2011-04-19). "PNC Presidential Aspirant Jabs Dr. Edward Mahama". CitiFM Online.
  4. "Bawku Central MP Adamu Sakande convicted; jailed two years". InfoGhana. 2012-07-27. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  5. "Ayariga wins Bawku Central Constituency". TV3 Ghana. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  6. "President Mills reshuffles Deputy Ministers, appoints new DCEs". Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-02-16.
  7. "President Mahama appoints first batch of Ministers". Pravda Radio. 2013-01-11. Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  8. Appointment, Committee. "Speaker announces Vetting Committee". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. Newsfilla. "THIS MAHAMA AYARIGA ADDRESSED THE MEDIA MAHAMA AYARIGA, MP FOR BAWKU CENTRAL". newsfilla.com. Newsfilla. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. Daily, Graphic. "How the Graphic Reported". newsfilla.com. Graphic Co-operation Ghana. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  11. FM, Adom. "Mahama Ayariga renders 'unrepentant apology' to Parliament". ghanaweb.com. Adomfmonline.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  12. "Why Speaker released Mahama Ayariga to face trial". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  13. "Speaker turns down Ayariga's plea for rejection of EC's new identification requirements". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana, Current Affairs, Business News , Headlines, Ghana Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Articles, Opinions, Viral Content. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  14. "Speaker rejects Ayariga's motion on EC's Constitutional Instrument". MyJoyOnline.com. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
Parliament of Ghana
Preceded by
Hawa Yakubu		 MP for Bawku Central
2005 – 2009		 Succeeded by
Adamu Dramani Sakande
Preceded by
Adamu Dramani Sakande		 MP for Bawku Central
2013 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
 Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry
? – ?		 Incumbent
Preceded by
 Deputy Minister for Education
? – ?		 Incumbent
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