Minister for Gender and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has shared how community work and faith led her to public service in a revealing account of her unconventional path into politics

The 49-year-old PhD holder from the University of Ghana detailed her transition into politics and meteoric rise to a ministerial position in an interview on JoyNews Personality Profile.

Naa Momo began her political career in 2000, serving as an assemblywoman and later as the presiding member of the Krowor Municipal Assembly.

The Nungua native contested the December 2016 elections under the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but lost to Elizabeth Afoley Quaye of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who won the Krowor seat.

With the spirit of perseverance, she contested again in the 2020 election under the same umbrella party and won. She retained her seat in 2024 and was later appointed as substantive minister to oversee gender and social protection.

According to Naa Momo, politics was never her dream.

"If it's not divine orchestration, then I'll say I stumbled on it," she reflected about her political beginnings. "This wasn't something I planned for. People who knew me from the past are often surprised I'm in politics; they would never have associated me with it."

Describing herself as "more of an introvert", she admitted politics was never her ambition. Her journey began through church activities with the Assemblies of God congregation and subsequent civil society work.

"Through my charitable work with fishmongers, they eventually pushed me into politics," she explained. "I was teaching them about leadership through a model training programme when the opportunity came to serve as a chief executive."

The turning point came when community members challenged her to practise what she preached about local government leadership. "They said, 'You've been teaching us we can start from the local government level; now here's your chance.' It completely threw me off board," she recalled.

Despite initial setbacks – including being told she wasn't partisan enough – she persevered. "I took it in good faith... When the opportunity came to serve as a government appointee, I was encouraged to contest as presiding member. By God's grace, I won. That's when my political journey began."

Her story highlights how grassroots engagement and community pressure can sometimes create unexpected paths to public service, even for those who never envisioned political careers.