The Head of the Inauguration Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has confirmed that 13 African Heads of State would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice Mahamudu Bawumia.
She confirmed at a press conference today that 13 African Presidents would attend the ceremony on Thursday, 7th January 2021 in Accra. The ceremony would kick-off at 11 am.
She said, “So far we have several Heads of State and government who have accepted or who are going to be part of the ceremony”.
“Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Niger and the other countries that will be represented, such as Gambia and Nigeria by the Foreign Ministers.
“We all have the Foreign Minister of India, the Foreign Minister of France, Foreign Minister of Rwanda, Foreign Minister of Gabon, we also have the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Gambia, we have the UK Minister for Africa, We have the US Special Envoy for the Sahel, of course, we have the President of ECOWA Commission and we also have the Chairperson of the AU Commission. We have representatives of the Conservative Party from the United Kingdom and we have representatives of the CDU and allied parties from Germany, so far these are the confirmations we have”. She said.
According to Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey some of the leaders who confirmed attendance include; the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio; President of Chad, Marshal Idriss Déby; President of Guinea, Alpha Condé; the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé; President of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenç; President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló; President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou; President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré; the Head of state of Mali, Acting President Bah Ndaw; and the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
She assured Ghanaians that COVID-19 protocols would be practice. “The Committee has been minded by the COVID-19 protocol of social distancing, which will be adhered to. As part of the protocol guidelines drawn up for the ceremony, visiting delegations will be required to provide a negative 72-hour PCR test before they are admitted into the country.
“In this connection, participants in the ceremony will be required to keep their face masks on at all times. Indeed, the need to strictly observe the COVID-19 protocols informed the number of persons which will be accredited to participate in the ceremony. The Committee understands the huge public interest in the ceremony but increasing the numbers will be simply disregarding the COVID-19 protocols, with its attendant dire consequences for the health and safety of everybody. I will therefore wish to plead with the members of the public to follow the ceremony from the comfort of their homes as it will be broadcast live on all major television and radio stations”. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said.
However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party led by Mr John Mahama rejected the presidential and parliamentary election results. President Nana Akufo-Addo was declared the winner with 51.59 per cent of the vote as the former president, John Mahama, secured 47.36 per cent votes, according to the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensah.
“I stand before you tonight unwilling to accept the fictionalised results of a flawed election,” he told a news conference. “We will take all legitimate steps to reverse this tragedy of justice”.
These have led to a series of demonstrations by staunch supporters of the NDC party to the displeasure of many peace-loving Ghanaians who would abhor post-election violence.
Many Ghanaians believed that Akufo- Addo won the presidential elections and John Mahama must concede defeat or seek legal redress to ensure peace in Ghana.
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Renate is a lawyer, publicist, and writer. She believes that education and information is the key to developing and shaping Africa. In her free time, she paints beautiful art pieces on canvas. Renate believes that life is a perception, and you live it the way you perceive it.
