The National Youth Organiser hopeful of the New Patriotic Party, Atick Yakubu, has announced a bold plan to secure political authority for the party’s youth wing.
In an address to TESCON members at the Accra College of Education, he outlined his vision saying “the question I am being asked by constituency youth organisers across the country is that what’s in for them when we win 2028? Is it going to be business as usual? I said no! As NYO, I will make sure the presidential aspirants sign a pact to cede five agencies to us as youth wing”.
Atick recalled former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo using the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to empower the youth.
“So, it’s nothing new. We will just have to enforce it because we don’t want stories after victory,” he emphasised.
Listing the five agencies he intends to secure for the youth of the NPP, he mentioned the YEA, National Youth Authority (NYA), National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), National Service Authority and Scholarship Secretariat.
“These agencies are youth-inclined and the youth wing must be in charge of them. This is how we institutionalise reward for work and loyalty,” Atick remarked.
Giving a detailed account on the governance structure he intends to institute, he said 12 national positions will be created for youth wing officers, each of the five agencies (excluding the Scholarship Secretariat and NEIP which have limited leadership roles) will have a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and two deputies making a total of 12 top roles.
He further said 12 regional youth organisers will be appointed as CEOs and deputy CEOs with the remaining 4 serving as Chief Directors at agencies of their choosing.
Additionally, he noted, each of the five agencies will have 16 regional offices, resulting in 80 regional management roles.
“These will be occupied by constituency youth organisers, meaning 1 in every 4 will become a regional officer while the rest will serve as district officers.”
Atick also emphasised that this structure will ensure that “the largesse and benefits of government are fairly distributed among the party’s grassroots youth leadership”.
“If you are a TESCON member and your regional youth organiser is a CEO or deputy and your constituency youth organiser is a regional manager, the requisite qualification to be employed is being a TESCON member. That’s how we take care of everyone,” he added.
Atick hoped to secure these commitments before the agenda for NPP’s 2028 victory is settled.
“We don’t want stories after victory. We need it signed, sealed and enforced before the campaign begins,” he stated.
AME
