Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Add has been sworn in by Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah for a second four-year term as president.
President Akufo-Addo, who contested on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was declared winner of the December 7, 2020 presidential election by the Electoral Commission (EC) after garnering 6,730, 413 to beat his closest rival and former President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who got 6,214,889 votes.
Mr. Mahama, who rejected the result of the election had last week approached the Supreme Court of Ghana, seeking the nullification of the result of the election declared by the EC.
In his speech at the inauguration ceremony on Thursday in Accra, President Akufo-Addo expressed delight at the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by his administration.
He urged Ghanaians to avail themselves of the huge opportunities, which the African single market, which took off on Friday, January 1 2021, is offering Ghanaians as host of the headquarters and other African countries.
President Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians that the government would work for a stronger Ghanaian economy and the creation of job opportunities for the Ghanaian youth.
Earlier in his State of the Nation Address, President Akufo Addo called on the Parliamentarians to cooperate and work in synergy since Ghanaians voted without giving any clear majority to either the NPP or the NDC.
In the election conducted earlier by the Parliamentarians Elect, for the office of the Speaker, Mr. Alban Bagbin of the NDC defeated the former Speaker of the Seventh Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Quaye, and was sworn in as Speaker of Eighth Parliament of Ghana.
According to local media reports, the election of the Speaker was rowdy and a member of Parliament elect snatched some ballot papers and attempted to escape from the chamber before he was apprehended.
The reports added that it took the intervention of armed soldiers and policemen to restore calm in the Parliament.
GIK/APA