Ntim Fordjour opposes calls to raise the GAF recruitment age

The Member of Parliament for Assin South, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has opposed calls by some legislators to raise the age limit for recruitment into the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

His comments come in response to recent proposals by the Minister for Communication, Digital Innovation and Technology, Sam George, and Majority Whip Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, who argued that the current age restriction should be reviewed upward to 30 years or more.

The two MPs contend that many Ghanaians within that age bracket are still physically fit and mentally capable of serving in the Armed Forces and should therefore not be disqualified purely on age grounds. They insist that such a reform would allow the country to tap into a wider pool of qualified and disciplined youth who may have completed tertiary education or acquired relevant skills later in life.

However, Rev. Ntim Fordjour has rejected the idea outright, describing it as “misconceived and misguided.” In a strongly worded social media post, the Assin South legislator accused the two MPs of pushing what he called a “populist agenda” aimed at creating room for political favoritism within the Armed Forces.

“Hon. Sam George and Hon. Dafeamekpor’s call for unqualified overage NDC foot soldiers into the military is a misconceived and misguided populist agenda,” he wrote. “We will resist every attempt by the NDC to load their overage foot soldiers into the Ghana Armed Forces. The Ghana Armed Forces is not a dumping ground for overage NDC foot soldiers.”

Rev. Fordjour, who previously served as Deputy Minister for Education, further cautioned against political interference in the military’s professional recruitment process. He warned that attempts to lower or alter the standards for partisan purposes could undermine the institution’s integrity and operational discipline.

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“NDC Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary Leadership must be made to know that it is extremely backward and dangerous to force unqualified people into the military as a reward for party patronage,” he stated. “Stop the undue interference in the credible and professional recruitment process underway by the Ghana Armed Forces.”