President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for the church and government to collaborate in the collective agenda of uplifting the moral, political, spiritual and economic life of the Ghanaian people, and, thereby, help accelerate the pace of development in the country.

According to President Akufo-Addo, “We want a partnership which is founded on common values of service to mankind, of love and solidarity with our fellow human beings, and of truth, honesty and integrity. If we focus on these values, it will enable us to lift up our country and fulfill the word of God, and realise the promise of immortality that Christ offers to all true believers.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday at the end of his 5-day tour of the Ashanti Region, when he addressed the 29th Biennial General Council Meeting of the Assemblies of God Church, held at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

Welcoming the support of the Assemblies of God Church on some government initiatives, such as in sanitation, education and the building of the National Cathedral, the President noted that these are positive examples which must be emulated by all churches in the country.

Whilst reiterating his determination to ensuring that every Ghanaian child gets a minimum of secondary school education, President Akufo-Addo explained that education is the most important contribution he can make to the welfare and progress of Ghana, and he is determined to do so.

“Education is a tool for development, and not for self-serving partisan political debates. This tool is what all of us should commit ourselves to, that every young person in this country, no matter where they are in Ghana, no matter the circumstances of their parents, have access to education,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo continued: “We don’t know what village is going to produce the Ghanaian Einstein, and if we have that perspective, then we will support the initiative that makes it possible. The first year of the Free Senior High School ensured that 90,000 more young men and women got into school than they did the year before.”

Thus, the spectre of at least 100,000 young men and women dropping out of the educational system at the level of Junior High School was one he was determined to stop.

With 180,000 more students expected to be enrolled in Senior High Schools across the country in September, the President told the gathering that his government has had to “devise intelligent solutions as to how we could use the existing infrastructure to cater for this additional number of people”.

To the members of the General Council, President Akufo-Addo indicated that he has no difficulty asserting his Christian faith, stating, unequivocally that, “I see myself as a Christian in politics and as one whose political views are deeply influenced by his Christian values.”