Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has indicated his readiness to take legal action against the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) if it fails to review the upper age limit for recruitment.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 9, 2025, the MP argued that the current enlistment age requirement should be consistent with the National Youth Authority Act, 2016 (Act 939), which classifies “youth” as persons between the ages of 15 and 35.
According to him, physical and medical fitness—not age—should be the key factor determining eligibility for military service.
“I intend to test this matter because, you see, we need to test systems to let systems work. And when systems are supposed to work, they must work within the existing legal framework. We must all obey the law,” he stated.
Mr. Dafeamekpor further explained that he would not oppose the military maintaining an age range aligned with the law, as long as applicants meet the necessary medical standards.
“I won’t have any problem if the armed forces say that the person between the ages of 15 years and 35 years is eligible to apply, but subject to a medical fitness test, because in a lot of countries, persons below 18 years are eligible to be recruited into the army, subject to parental consent,” he said.
He warned that if the Ghana Armed Forces ignores the call for reform, he would pursue the matter in court.
“So this matter must be tested; if the army resists this call, it may leave me with no option but to seek a remedy in the judicial forum. Our army is constitutionally established and given effect to it under Article 102 by Parliament, and subsequently with legislation such as the National Youth Authority Act, which is the law that governs the youth bracket of this country, whether the army can continue to conduct its business without recourse to this laid down legislation,” he explained.
Earlier, Mr. Dafeamekpor revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that several party supporters had raised concerns about the existing age limit. He also cited examples from other countries — including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, and the United States — where individuals are allowed to enlist into their 30s and beyond.
