Justin Frimpong Kodua, the general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has explained how Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-influence Addo’s allowed him to enter the legal profession.
On Sunday, July 17, 2022, at the Accra Sports Stadium, where the NPP was holding its National Delegates Conference, Justin Kodua said in one of his first interviews that he might not have pursued law if the president hadn’t persuaded him to.
Given that he comes from a long line of NPP stalwarts, he described how this transpired by stating that he met the president while pursuing a career in politics.
JFK, as he is more often known, claimed that during that encounter, the president—at the time serving as the minister of foreign affairs—encouraged him to pursue a legal education as well since it would advance his political career.
“I recall him telling me, ‘Young man, you are extremely eloquent, and I will like you to be part of the young people I will groom in the party,'” the man recalled.
“I was very honest with him, I told him I wanted to pursue politics as a career. So he advised me then – that was 2009 – that if I am interested in politics and it is something I want to do as a full-time job, why don’t I go to law school. For that one, you have a backup profession and you don’t need to rely on someone to give you employment.
He stated in the JoyNews interview that Countryghana was watching, “You know, the moment you enter into politics, you are ‘tainted,’ and if you are not careful and your government loses elections, people will be uncomfortable employing you, but if you are a lawyer, you can be self-employed.
It would have appeared that President Akufo-assistance Addo’s ended there, but Justin Kodua noted that the president also covered the cost of his first semester of law school.
“I entered law school in that manner, and it was in 2010. It was among the best bits of advise anyone has ever given me, he continued.
Many Ghanaians are still talking about Justin Frimpong Kodua’s victory over John Boadu, who is considered to be a Goliath in the country.
But who is this man exactly?
John Boadu came in second with 2,524 votes, trailing JFK, as he is affectionately known, who received 2,837 votes.
Kodua became the favorite of the populace as a lawyer with a focus on corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular interest in land disputes and asset management, which led to his win at the Accra Sports Stadium.
He was given the responsibility of leading the effort to treat Ghana’s young unemployment epidemic when President Nana Addo Dankwa selected him to manage the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in 2017.
He served as the New Patriotic Party’s Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer prior to being named the YEA CEO (NPP).
He graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology with an LLB and the Ghana School of Law with a Barrister of Law.
The same university is where Justin Frimpong Kodua earned his Bachelor of Science in Land Economy.