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Prince Kassim, an international business consultant with nearly 10 years professional experience has emerged from the ranks of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to contest for the highly coveted National Youth Organiser position of the party. He will be contesting against several other aspirants, including the incumbent Youth Organiser, Ludwig Hlodze who has been serving in the position for close to five years now. Other contestants include one Wonder Madilo, Marcus Garvin Adampah and Sidi Abubarkar, formerly of the Friends of the contentious group that emerged out of the NDC; Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR). Prince Kassim is tipped by pundits as being the most likely to win the contest, where he is facing off against incumbent Mr. Hlodze who has been widely criticised for his inactiveness. Critics have shot down Mr. Hlodze from retaining the position because he is widely viewed as pursuing his personal interest rather than the collective interest of the ruling party�s youth front. Essentially, the criticisms mean he had woefully failed to live up to the impressive standards set by his predecessors, Haruna Iddrisu, who is currently the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare. Party sources have told the Republic newspaper that Ludwig Hlodze as the youth organiser would not be able to match the youth organiser of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, known for his visibility and vocal presence in the political space. The NDC is strongly relying on its youth front to retain power in the forthcoming 2016 Presidential election. Meanwhile, the other threat to Prince Kassim in the youth organiser race Sidi Abubarkar, is widely viewed with suspicion, given the role he played as one of the spearheads in FONKAR who were determined to unseat the then President John Evans Atta-Mills in the acrimonious Sunyani congress of the NDC in 2010 where former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings campaigned against the re-election of late Evans Atta-Mills for a second term as the flagbearer of the ruling party. Even though Mr. Abubarkar insists he has parted ways with FONKAR, his critics maintain their suspicions. The other aspirants are little known, party sources have told this paper. The various controversies dogging his contenders puts Prince Kassim in an opportunistic position to snatch the youth organiser position from the incumbent, party sources have estimated. Prince Kassim is not a novice to NDC politics, indeed, he has bagged quite an impressive track-record. He was elected Secretary of the NDC UK and Ireland Chapter in 2009 shortly after the NDC won the 2008 election, a position he held for 4 years. Before that, he served as the co-opted Co-Ordinator of the NDC party Youth in the UK and Ireland which was then in opposition between 2005 and 2007, where he was responsible for the formation of the NDC UK and Ireland Chapter Youth Wing. Following the formation of the NDC UK Youth Wing, Prince Kassim was elected to serve as the 1st Deputy Youth Organizer for the Chapter in 2007, serving till 2009. In Ghana, Prince Kassim is currently a member of the NDC Communication Team. He was also a candidate in the Akatsi South NDC Parliamentary primaries held in January 2013 following the resignation of the former MP who was elected Speaker of Ghana�s Parliament According to his aides, with his vast international business and political experience, Prince Kassim brings extensive skills in organizational management and strategy, including valuable experience both as a senior business and political executive. He also brings a deep understanding of political and corporate organizations as a result of an extensive international professional career. As an Economist and foreign direct investment expert, he advises and represents major international companies. He is currently the Country Representative and Consultant for SANTERRE Limited, the international infrastructure development company. Prince Kassim is also a project consultant to ACEC Investments Limited, an Indian investment group involved in construction, real estates and the health care industries in Ghana, Singapore and India. He has also been a Consultant and Country Representative for Farmtrac Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Escorts Group. Prior to that, he was Country Representative and Consultant in Ghana for Elenilto Group, the minerals, oil and gas company headquartered in London and Tel Aviv. Prince Kassim is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Petro-Electric Company, an independent consulting firm which provides a variety of cross-border professional services in foreign direct investment consulting; oil and gas business consulting; minerals & mining consultancy; energy infrastructure development; public private partnerships; government relations and public policy advisory; trade and investment promotion, among others. From humble beginnings, Prince Kassim began primary education at Akatsi, his hometown in the Volta Region and completed Junior Secondary School at Amazing Love School in Denu. He received part of his Secondary education at the Presbyterian Boys� Secondary School in Legon-Accra, from where he continued his education abroad. Prince Kassim holds a Bachelors Degree in Business with a concentration in Economics, and is a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Business and Management at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.