The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has told Wa Naa that he cannot have former President John Mahama as his successor.
According to President Akufo-Addo, he removed John Mahama from his seat as President and later defeated him again through another election. To him, the former president should not return to office again as a president of Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo said this on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 when he visited Wa Naa at his palace.
“Wa Naa, as you know, this is an election year. On the 7th of December, 2024 the people of Ghana are going to elect a new president and a new House of Parliament. Before the election is held, I am going to come here and pay my proper goodbye to you and thank you for the cooperation that I received from you and your chiefs during my presidency,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He continued, “and God willing, when I come, I am going to come with the man who is going to be my successor. Wa Naa, you know that the man I removed from the seat, I cannot have him as my successor and as a traditional ruler, you understand what I am saying.”
CONTEST
President Akufo-Addo and former President John Mahama first battled it out in December 2012, where Mahama defeated Akufo-Addo in an election that landed in the Supreme Court, but the verdict did not change the results as declared by the Electoral Commission.
Akufo-Addo defeated John Mahama in 2016 and 2020. The 2020 elections also ended up in the Supreme Court and the court’s verdict maintained the outcome of the polls.
For the 2024 presidential elections, the New Patriotic Party’s Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the sitting Vice President, who President Akufo-Addo wants as his successor, will face-off with former President John Mahama.
REPUTATION
President Akufo-Addo, in his address to the chiefs and people of Wa, remarked that Ghana is known as the pacesetter for democratic government across the entire continent of Africa.
In view of this, he assured Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the paramount chief of the Waala traditional area that “this year [the December 2024 elections] we are going to maintain that reputation.”
However, he called for the support and cooperation of the chief, advocating that they work together to ensure that the peace and stability of the country is maintained before, during and after the electioneering period.
WA SOLAR
President Akufo-Addo, who was in Wa to commission Phase 2 of the solar panel project, had only passed through the Palace to pay a courtesy call before proceeding to inaugurate the facility.
Situated in Kaleo, Phase 2 of the Kaleo Solar Power Plant has a capacity of fifteen Megawatts peak (15 MWp).
The President posited that the Phase 2, aside from the addition of the fifteen Megawatts of clean energy to the national grid, also improves the quality of power supply in the Upper West Region.
He added that the 15 MWP is estimated to reduce national carbon emissions by nearly 8,917 tonnes, contributing to Ghana’s efforts to combat climate change and fulfil its international commitments.
It was the expectation of the President that corporate social responsibility programmes for Kaleo and its environment would be enhanced through the provision of social amenities by the appropriate authorities, including VRA, as the project is situated in the community.
ELECTRICITY ACCESS
President Akufo-Addo reiterated the government’s commitment to continuously invest in the electricity transmission network to enable the country to evacuate more renewable energy through the national grid and support the extension of electricity to all parts of the country.
“It is our intention to attain full electricity access by the end of this year, up from the current rate of 88.8%,” he stated.
“The vision, however, is not only to be energy self-sufficient but also to set the stage for Ghana to emerge as an eco-friendly country in the region, inspiring neighbouring countries to follow suit in their pursuit of a greener, more energy-technology-centred future,” he added.
