The Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has responded to criticism from the Member of Parliament for Assin South and Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Security, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, over his proposal to increase the maximum recruitment age for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to 35 years.
Mr Dafeamekpor explained that his suggestion was based on comparative data from 20 different armed forces across the world that have raised their recruitment age limits without compromising military strength.
“I am only asking that the NPP policy of extending the upper ceiling for years of service for Other Ranks from 25 years to 30 years be also applied to enlarge the ceiling for entry from 25 years to 30 years or more, subject to medical fitness,” he stated.
He argued that the then governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had, in 2024, increased the maximum service years for Other Ranks in the Ghana Armed Forces from 25 to 30, effectively extending their retirement age from 55 to 60 years.
“Was it to allow overaged NPP foot soldiers to remain in the Army?” he questioned.
Mr Dafeamekpor stressed that a medically fit 26 or 30-year-old is equally capable of undergoing military training, adding that there is no legal or regulatory justification to deny such individuals the opportunity to serve in non-combatant roles such as drivers, mechanics, cooks, or bandsmen.
“So to Hon. Ntim Fordjour and the NPP, is it better to keep 56- to 60-year-olds in the Army than to intake 26- to 30-year-olds as soldiers?” he asked.
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1. Hon. Rev. Ntim Fordjuor, your conclusion in this matter, is a lousy one without engaging the issues.
— Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq. MP. (@etsedafeamekpor) October 9, 2025
2, But let me ask you this: as the Ranking Member on the Defence & Interior Committee of Parliament now and as a Deputy Minister of State just last year, when your Npp Govt… pic.twitter.com/auvMg0M1qF
