The frequency with which Ministers of Youth and Sports are being replaced has stirred newly-appointed Mahama Ayariga to seek divine intervention.
A source at the ministry revealed that the minister, a few days after taking over from his predecessor Elvis Afriyie- Ankrah, took top-notch Islamic clerics to his office to fortify the place.
The move, according to the source, was to seek divine help against evil machinations so that what befell his predecessors would not happen to him.
It is the most talked about Ministry, and has seen Ministers come and go through the revolving door.
Some of the past Ministers even lasted only 30 days in office after appointment, an indication of how hot the seat is.
The immediate-past Minister Afriyie-Ankrah lost his position while on international assignment in faraway Brazil during the 2014 World Cup.
One young Minister who showed promise but didn’t last long on the hot seat was Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka. What led to his departure, stoking controversy, is still fresh in the minds of Ghanaians.
Mallam Issah, who served under the Kufuor administration, is in the Ministry’s history books as the shortest-serving Minister.
But one name stands tall among the 22 Ministers that served at the ministry is Enoch Teye Mensah, for his long reign (1993-2001), although he did not qualify the country to the World stage – a feat Yaw Osafo Marfo could boast of as the first Minister to have achieved.
Later, Akua Sena Dansua and Afriyie-Ankrah replicated the feat in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups respectively.
Hon Ayariga assumed office not long ago but he has also demonstrated promise to succeed at the Ministry which has become a banana peel for most government officials.
A few weeks into his reign, he called for a 60-man football retreat, inspected projects and sports facilities, all in pursuance of a successful reign.
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Source: Daily Guide