Samuel Abu Jinapor

Samuel Abu Jinapor , (born 1983) is a Ghanaian lawyer and a politician. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and the Member of Parliament for the Damongo Constituency. In 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo appointed him as Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations at the Office of the President, at the age of 33, the youngest in the history of Ghana to occupy such a position. He is currently the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

Early life and education

Samuel Abu Jinapor was born in 1983 to Abudulai Jinapor, a former police officer and Chief of Buipe in the Savannah Region of Ghana. He attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2006. He proceeded to the University of Ghana in 2008 where he earned a Bachelor of Laws in 2010. That same year, he was admitted to read LLB at Ghana School of Law, Makola, Accra. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 2012 as a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He also holds a Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution from the Faculty of Law, University Of Ghana. In the course of his studies, amongst others, he successfully took academic sessions in International Commercial Arbitration, Labour Law, Law and Society.

Career

As a lawyer, he undertook his pupillage with Messrs Kulendi@Law, an Accra-based commercial and corporate law firm, from October 2012 to August 2013. He studied under the tutelage of the renowned lawyer, Yonny Kulendi, who is now a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

At Kulendi@Law, Jinapor rose to the position of a Senior Associate. In this capacity, he developed the skills for quick thinking and oratory, and he served as an advocate in major commercial and corporate litigations. Whilst at the firm, Jinapor acted as a transactional lawyer for several complex, commercial negotiations, both domestically and internationally.

Again, as Senior Associate, he was periodically assigned to manage a team of lawyers from diverse backgrounds. While Practicing as a Lawyer, he had the opportunity of representing major foreign companies in Ghana as a Solicitor and Legal Advocate, both in Ghanaian Courts and Arbitral Tribunals.

Political life

Jinapor's interest in public affairs inspired him to join politics in 2004. His political activism earned him the opportunity at the age of 23 to accompany the then President of the Republic, His Excellency, John Agyekum Kufour, on a State Visit to the United Kingdom (UK) in 2007.

In 2007, Jinapor was appointed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, then presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party, as his campaign Assistant for the Party's Presidential Primaries that year. Though, Nana Akufo-Addo won the primaries, he lost the main elections in 2008, but Jinapor stayed as aide for the 2012 Elections.

In the 2016 general elections, Samuel Abu Jinapor, played a major political advocacy role for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and candidate, Akufo-Addo. He was seen and heard on major media and campaign platforms across the country, taking on the incumbent, John Dramani Mahama's government.

In 2017, after victory at the Election, President Nana Akufo-Addo appointed Jinapor as Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations at the Office of the President. At age 33, he became the youngest in Ghana's history to occupy that position.

As Deputy Chief of Staff, he assisted the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare in mobilizing government machinery to support the execution of the President's agenda for the country. Having worked closely in various capacities with President Akufo-Addo, both in opposition and government, Jinapor has gained considerable experience in the workings of government.

In 2020, whilst still performing his task as Deputy Chief of Staff, he contested as NPP's Parliamentary Candidate for the Damongo Constituency. The polls were competitive, but Jinapor won to become the first in the New Patriotic Party to become MP for the area since Ghana's return to multiparty democracy in 1992.

For the results, he won with 15,989 votes, representing 54.1% of the total votes cast whilst the NDC parliamentary candidate Adam Mutawakilu had 13,279 votes making 44.9% of the total votes cast, the independent parliamentary candidate David Tiki Dange had 296 votes making 1.0% of the total votes cast.
H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo nominated him as the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources in his second term government.

On January 16, 2023, he assumed the role of the Trade and Industry Minister as a caretaker after being appointed by H.E Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo on January 13, 2023, until on 7 February 2023, K.T Hammond was appointed as a substantive minister, replacing him. The parliamentary approval for his appointment was granted on 24 March 2023.

In July 2024, he was appointed the Oversight Minister for Energy by President Akufo-Addo following the resignation of Dr. Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, following his nomination as Vice Presidential Candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party.

Personal life

Jinapor is married to Mrs. Naada D.B. Jinapor, a Lawyer and head of the Corporate Law Department of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) of Ghana and their marriage is blessed with four (4) children. Samuel Abu Jinapor is a Christian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jinapor, Samuel A.
Living people
21st-century Ghanaian lawyers
People from Northern Region (Ghana)
University of Ghana alumni
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni
Ghana School of Law alumni
1983 births
New Patriotic Party politicians
Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025
People from Savannah Region (Ghana)
Cabinet ministers of Ghana