The flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Hassan Ayariga says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) adopted the proposed 24-hour economy policy from him.

According to him, he has consistently been advocating to make the most of Ghana's natural resources.

He believes everyone must work longer hours so the country reaches its industrialisation goal.

Read also: We will implement ’24-hour Economy’ gradually – Mahama 

Speaking on JoyNews on September 20, he said, “Look at the things we can use to do cooking oil. Groundnut, palm oil, shea butter, coconut, soya bean, all these things can be used to extract oil yet we import over 800 million dollars of oil and we say we are underemployed.”

“When we don’t make good use of our natural and human resource, we will be sleeping like we are doing, working 8 hours and 16 hours sleeping,” he said.

On the back of this, when asked whether he supported the NDC's 24-hour economic policy, he retorted, “NDC adopted it from me.”

Touching on other policies, he suggested an "economic lockdown policy." He said it is aimed at transforming Ghana into a production, manufacturing, and industrial hub if he wins the upcoming elections.

“I am going to lock down this economy for one year. When I lock down the economy, we will become a production hub, a manufacturing hub, and an industrial hub. Doing it so, I will increase productivity by running the 24-hour economy, making sure Ghanaians work the three shift system, 8 hours each for production, manufacturing and industrialisation.”

• Read also: Running a 24-hour economy will boost our GDP – Lord Mensah

Dr Ayariga stated that this shift would create a vibrant city environment, enabling the country to reduce its reliance on imports, particularly for staple items like rice and cooking oil.

According to him, the current approach to economic management is ineffective, stating that without effectively utilising Ghana's natural and human resources, the nation will remain stagnant.