Archbishop Dr Daniel Yinka Sarfo, Primate and Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglican church of Ghana has said the church and the state must make deliberate efforts at training and nurturing the youth to take up the mantle of leadership.

He noted that the two bodies must first whip up the desire of young people to be mentored for the right leadership as they were the driving force for national development.

The Archbishop was speaking at this year’s Anglican Youth Conference held at Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.

It was on the theme: “Arise and build: the role of the youth in the mission of the church in nation building.”

He urged the youth to be responsible and disciplined and avoid activities that would disturb the security of the country, and that, it would also help create an atmosphere of stability for national development.

He advised the youth to take their academic work and apprenticeship serious to acquire the needed employable skills for nation building.

Archbishop Sarfo said Ghana and Africa needed leaders with good morals, who had been reborn in Jesus Christ and exhibit Christian values, such as hard work, honesty, righteousness, law abiding and corrupt free.

He said those qualities were spiritual ingredients necessary for national development and could only be nurtured in the church, which the youth must belong to.

Mr Daniel Syme, the Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, charged the youth to have good spiritual relationship with God to enable them to build their moral lives to make them responsible and patriotic.

He noted that, the church and the state were development partners and that government was committed to creating a conducive atmosphere for the various religious institutions to operate.