The Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General William Agyapong, on Monday, May 19, 2025, paid a courtesy call on the Director General of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai. He was accompanied by Major General Emmanuel Kotia (Rtd.), Air Vice Marshal Felix Asante, Acting President of the National Defense University, and Lieutenant Colonel Sena Affanyi, Protocol Officer for the CDS.

Lieutenant General Agyapong said the purpose of the visit was to introduce himself as the new Chief of Defense Staff and to thank the Director General of GTEC for facilitating the Charter for the National Defense University. He said the visit was also to deepen the already existing collaboration between the GTEC and the University.

The Director General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai welcomed and congratulated Lt. Gen. Agyapong on his appointment as the Chief of Defense Staff. He also congratulated Air Vice Marshal Felix Asante on his appointment as the first Acting President of the first National Defense University and said that the GTEC is ready to support the growth of the university.

Prof. Jinapor noted that the National Defense University should not be seen as a military university but rather a defense university therefore all programmes within the defense architecture, including programmes from the Police, Fire Service, Customs etc. must be routed through the Defense University. “The military is one of the most disciplined institutions in the country and that discipline must cascade down to the university established” he said.

He also cautioned the University not to drift off its mandate by pursuing programmes that have no relevance to what they are established for. He asked the University to position itself as the Defense University of the West African subregion. He added that as a public tertiary institution, he would work to ensure that the Defense University receives all the benefits that comes with public institutions.

The Director General concluded by advising that even though the National Defense University has a Charter and can issue its own certificates, the processes for attaining an Act should not be truncated as that is the where the University will draw their strength from as a public institution.