Steven Nhyira Odarteifio has officially declared his intention to contest the National Youth Organiser position of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), promising to transform the party’s Youth Wing into a powerful engine for economic empowerment and opportunity creation.
Addressing the media and party supporters, Comrade Odarteifio said his decision was driven by what he described as a “burden on his conscience” over the aspirations of millions of young Ghanaians who voted for President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC in the belief that the government would create greater opportunities for them.
He said the NDC must build a Ghana where young people can contribute and lead based on their ideas, service, character and ability to deliver rather than their political connections, financial strength or popularity.
According to him, although the Mahama administration has introduced programmes including Adwumawura, the National Apprenticeship Programme and One Million Coders, effective youth leadership is required to ensure that young people are adequately informed, organized and connected to those opportunities.
“Programmes alone do not change lives. People must know about them. People must be able to reach them. People must be organised around them,” he said.
Mr. Odarteifio therefore called for a “new dawn of youth leadership” capable of multiplying, amplifying and accelerating access to government opportunities while mobilising young people not only for political power but also for economic freedom. Read Also: NPA Intensifies Cancer Awareness, Urges Early Detection
He said the NDC Youth Wing must move beyond its traditional role of mobilising young people primarily for elections and become a platform that creates and connects young people to opportunities in capital, skills, enterprise, agriculture, technology and markets.
“I do not want a Youth Wing that only knows how to mobilise young people for elections. I want a Youth Wing that knows how to mobilise opportunity between elections,” he stated.
Mr. Odarteifio said his vision was to help the Youth Wing economically impact one million additional young people before the end of the Mahama administration, while supporting productive agricultural enclaves and unlocking tens of thousands of opportunities for young Ghanaians.
He said his interest in youth empowerment was informed by years of practical experience in community development, agriculture, enterprise and youth interventions, which he said had contributed to opportunities and improved livelihoods for more than 100,000 young people across the country.
He cited his involvement in agricultural economic enclaves, deployment of agricultural equipment, support for local artisans to manufacture agricultural machinery, assistance to women processors and young farmers, and efforts to strengthen agricultural education in tertiary institutions.
“When I speak about youth empowerment, I am not speaking from a textbook. When I speak about jobs and opportunity, I am not assuring you for the sake of it. I have seen the problems. I have built solutions. I have persisted,” he said.
The aspiring National Youth Organiser also challenged what he described as a culture in which political leadership is determined by the depth of a person’s pockets rather than the depth of their ideas. https://theexclusiveonline.com/
He argued that young people should not be required to become wealthy, politically connected or famous before their voices and leadership abilities are recognised within the party.
Drawing inspiration from historical figures including Yaa Asantewaa, Kwame Nkrumah and Jerry John Rawlings, Mr. Odarteifio said Ghana’s history had demonstrated that individuals could rise from unlikely circumstances to inspire movements and transform society.
He appealed particularly to young party activists, unemployed graduates, struggling entrepreneurs and grassroots organisers who feel overlooked or forgotten.
He said his campaign would seek to demonstrate that a young person with ideas, a record of service, limited resources and a community of believers could still organise, rise and lead.
Mr. Odarteifio further said reducing economic inequality and youth unemployment was critical to ending the culture of “something small for boys”, arguing that sustainable economic opportunities would give young people dignity and reduce their dependence on political patronage.
Formally announcing his candidature, he said: “I, Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, hereby announce my candidature for the position of National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress.”
He pledged to support President Mahama and the government in creating opportunities for young people, while building a Youth Wing capable of connecting political mobilisation with tangible economic empowerment.
He expressed confidence that empowering the youth would strengthen the NDC’s long-term electoral prospects and help position the party to secure what he described as 20 consecutive years in political power.
Mr. Odarteifio ended his declaration with a direct message to Ghana’s youth: “Your dreams are not too big. Your name is not too small. I see you. I believe in you.”
