Hassan Ayariga (born 4 September 1972) is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

and unsuccessful 2016 Ghanaian presidential aspirant. He is the founder of the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Ap ...

(APC) and was the candidate of the People's National Convention for the December 2012 presidential election.

Early life and education

Ayariga spent his childhood in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

and

Bawku Bawku is a town and is the capital of the Bawku Municipal District, district in the Upper East Region, Upper East region of north Ghana, adjacent to the Burkina Faso–Ghana border, border with Burkina Faso. It is located approximately between ...

, moving to Nigeria with his parents after the overthrow of the Limann administration. He attended Ghana Secondary School in Tamale and then in Nigeria

Barewa College Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College ...

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, but did not earn a degree at Barewa. He eventually studied accounting at the London School of Accountancy, yet likewise neither pursued or acquired any degree. Ayariga later attended Atlantic International University, an unaccredited university often described as a degree mill. This is not Ayariga's only dubious American educational credential as he is also the recipient of an honorary degree from Reagan National University, an institution likewise widely reported as a fraud. In addition, the very accreditor of Reagan National University, the

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) was a Non-profit organization, non-profit education corporation that was recognized by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous Higher education ...

, itself became unrecognized in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

because of its lax standards. Despite styling himself as 'Dr.', Ayariga has never actually earned any degree from an educational institution currently-accredited by recognized authorities within the country in which it is domiciled. The same cannot be stated with respect to either his spouse (Anitta) or brother (Mahama), who are graduates of

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public uni ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

respectively.

Politics

In the presidential primaries of the People's National Convention (PNC) for the 2016 general election, Ayariga lost to

Edward Mahama Edward Nasigrie Mahama (born 15 April 1945) is a Ghanaian medical doctor and politician. He was a perennial presidential candidate of the People's National Convention, contesting in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2016 General Elections. Early li ...

, whom he had beaten to become presidential candidate in 2012. Alleging electoral misconduct, he left the party to form a new party, the All People’s Congress (APC), in 2016. The

Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members and there are seven (7) functional departments at the Head Office. Each department is headed by a Director who is ...

handed the party a provisional certificate after he met the requisite requirements, and it had since been granted a final certificate. Due to reported errors with paperwork, Ayariga was disqualified from appearing on the ballot in the

2016 Ghanaian general election General elections were held in Ghana on 7 December 2016 to elect a President of Ghana, President and all 275 Members of Parliament of Ghana, Parliament. They had originally been scheduled for 7 November 2016, but the date was later rejected by P ...

. In response, Ayariga launched claims of electoral misconduct not unlike those he had earlier leveled at the People's National Convention.

Personal life

His father, Frank Abdulai Ayariga, was a member of parliament for the Bawku Constituency during the third republic administration of

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served as the eighth president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He previously served as a diplomat in Lomé and in Geneva. Education Limann, whose origi ...

and his mother, Anatu Ayariga, a business woman. His younger brother

Mahama Ayariga Mahama Ayariga (born 12 May 1974) is a lawyer and politician in Ghana. He belongs to the National Democratic Congress. He was the Minister of Information and Media Relations and the Minister of Youth and Sports under the John Dramani Mahama admi ...

was Ghanaian Minister for Youth and Sports from 2013-2015, and he is the current Ghanaian Member of Parliament for the

Bawku Central Bawku Central is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Bawku Central is located in the Bawku Municipal district of the Upper East ...

Constituency. Hassan Ayariga lived and worked in Germany for many years and has business interests in both Ghana and Germany. He is married and has 5 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayariga, Hassan 1971 births Living people People's National Convention (Ghana) politicians People from Upper East Region Candidates for President of Ghana All People's Congress (Ghana) politicians Ghana Senior High School (Tamale) alumni