Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has dismissed recent calls for an upward review of the age limit for enlistment into the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), describing them as “needless.”
His comments follow renewed calls by Communications Minister, Sam Nartey George, for Ghana to review the enlistment age ceiling to allow citizens up to 35 years to join the military.
The proposal, shared in a Facebook post, was supported by Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi, who cited international examples of higher enlistment ages.
Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, October 8, Rev. Fordjour maintained that the existing age policy guiding military recruitment is fair, internationally comparable, and rooted in professionalism.
He argued that the Ghana Armed Forces already operate within a flexible and well-structured framework that accommodates various categories of recruits, depending on their roles and expertise.
“…Whenever the Ghana Armed Forces is doing enlistment, that is for officers in some specialised courses, some specialised skills, like medical doctors, they even recruit up to 35 years, and so these calls are needless,” he said.
“There’s already a policy set, and the Ghana Armed Forces is doing the right thing. I don’t see why a section of NDC MPs would want to make public requests that interfere with the quality work the Ghana Armed Forces is doing,” he added.
Rev. Fordjour cautioned against politicising military recruitment, citing Liberia’s past experience as a warning of the dangers of altering age policies for political expediency.
“History tells us that when Liberia’s leadership at the time tampered with the age policy and made recruitment political — bringing in foot soldiers above 35 — it ended up weakening the force. We don’t want to get there,” he warned.
He urged politicians to allow the Chief of Defence Staff and his team to carry out their duties with “absolute neutrality and professionalism,” stressing that the current policy is consistent with global best practices.
Rev. Fordjour also addressed the suggestion that raising the age limit could help tackle unemployment, calling it misguided.
“In any case, Hon. Sam George is a Cabinet Minister. If he feels strongly that, in a country where the median age is 21.5, the best way to curb unemployment is to raise the limit to 35 to satisfy party foot soldiers, he can propose it to Cabinet. If the Cabinet agrees, it can then be tabled for consideration by the Ghana Armed Forces Council,” he said.
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