By Edzorna Francis Mensah
Haruna Iddrisu, currently a Member of Parliament for Tamale South in the Northern Region of Ghana and a former Minority Leader in Parliament, serves on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The governing party is led by President John Dramani Mahama.
Haruna Iddrisu is a lawyer, politician, and football enthusiast who owns Karela United and Steadfast Football Clubs. He served as the Minority Leader for the NDC in Ghana’s Parliament from January 2017 until he was succeeded by Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam and now the Minister of Finance, pending parliamentary approval.
Mr. Iddrisu began his early education at Kulikuli School and later studied at the University of Ghana between 1993 and 1997, where he obtained a B.A. (Hons) in Sociology. He was active in student politics and served as President of the National Union of Ghana Students during his final year. Iddrisu is also a barrister and has been a member of the Ghana Bar Association since 2002.
In his political career, Iddrisu transitioned into mainstream national politics after university and rose to become the National Youth Organizer for the National Democratic Congress in 2002. He held that position for eight years while simultaneously serving as Minister of Communications in the Atta Mills government. Iddrisu stepped down from the role in 2010.
As a Member of Parliament, he first contested the parliamentary election in 2004 in the then-newly formed Tamale South constituency and won. Iddrisu served as the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications and also as the Minority Spokesperson on Communications in the Fourth Parliament when the NDC was in opposition.
He retained his seat in the 2008 parliamentary election, winning 78.2% of the total votes cast. Again, he retained his seat in the 2012 parliamentary elections with 74.6% of the votes.
Even though his party lost the presidential election, Haruna retained his seat in the 2016 elections and was chosen as the Minority Leader of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana.
In January 2020, Haruna Iddrisu donated a CHPS compound to the Duunyin community in the Northern Region to provide healthcare services to the residents. During the 2020 elections, even though his party, the NDC, failed to recapture power from the NPP, he retained the Tamale South Constituency seat by a landslide.
In January 2023, Haruna’s tenure as Minority Leader ended after the NDC restructured its parliamentary leadership, replacing him with Dr. Ato Forson. The decision was based on the party’s assessment that economic issues would dominate the next election, necessitating leadership with expertise in economic matters.
In May 2023, Haruna ran unopposed in the NDC Parliamentary primaries and won. Notably, he is the only incumbent MP in Ghana’s history to run for primaries unopposed for four consecutive terms.
As a minister, he has held various positions in government, including Minister for Communications under the Mills and Mahama administrations, Minister for Trade between 2013 and 2014, and Minister for Employment and Labour Relations from July 2014.
Haruna Iddrisu is a married Muslim, a father of three, and hails from the Northern Region of Ghana.
A passionate football enthusiast, Haruna plays football on weekends and holidays in his hometown, Tamale. He also owns the Ghana Premier League club Karela United and the Division One side Steadfast FC, which nurtured Leicester City’s winger Abdul Fatawu Issahaku. The English Premier League club reportedly paid €17 million to secure Issahaku’s transfer.
Haruna Iddrisu has now been nominated for the position of Minister of Education and awaits parliamentary approval.
