Akufo-Addo delivers last state of the Nation for first term
President Akufo-Addo will today deliver his last state of the Nation Address for his first term in office.
The Address will be delivered in Parliament.
The President is expected to give accounts of developments in the country over the last year.
He will also give hints of his plans as he sets to begin his term. The address will be delivered to a sharply divided House as the NDC MPs continue to protest over the results of the 2020 polls.
Akufo-Addo defeated Mahama in the polls, collecting 51.302% of the votes while the latter had 47.359%.
Mahama, however, rejected the outcome, filing a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge it.
Supreme Court quashes injunction against Amewu
Moving away from President Nana Akufo-Addo’s SONA, John Peter Amewu will be sworn in as the Member of Parliament for the Hohoe constituency.
It follows a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, quashing the interim by the Ho High Court to stop the Electoral Commission from gazetting the 2020 Parliamentary election results of the constituency.
The five-member panel presided over by Justice Yaw Appaw held that the application of the interested parties from their own submissions both at the High Court in Ho and at the Supreme Court suggests that they were seeking the enforcement of their fundamental human rights to vote in the elections organized by the Electoral Commission.
According to the apex court, the High Court Judge erred in its decision to grant an interim injunction against the gazetting of the Hohoe Parliamentary election results in the 2020 general elections.
Majority and Minority leaders clash in 'war of words' in Parliament
There was a bit of a subtle war of words traded between Ghana's Majority and Minority leaders in Parliament following the delivery of President Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address.
Majority leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu after the delivery of the last State of the Nation Address of the 7th Parlemanet of the 4th Republic moved for proceedings to go on.
However, the Minority leader of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, before seconding the motion, quizzed why the death of people in Techiman in line with alleged election violence was missing from the president's address.
Akufo-Addo's swearing-in: Only GBC will be allowed access to main chamber
In the meantime, the government has announced that only the state broadcaster Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)would be allowed access to the main chamber of parliament to cover the inauguration of President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa AKufo-Addo.
It further announced that a media village has been erected at the precinct of parliament to host other media platforms, due to space and security reasons.
7th parliament has been the best so far in the 4th republic - Akufo-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo said that the seventh parliament has been the best so far in the fourth republic.
Addressing his final State of the Nation Address, the president said unlike the other parliaments the seventh has been very productive in the growth of the country.
He said the parliament approved over 50 legislations.
Trump delegates special envoy to attend Akufo-Addo’s swearing-in
In a separate development, the US Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa, Ambassador Dr J. Peter Pham, will be representing President Donald J. Trump at the second inauguration of Nana Akufo-Addo, Asaase Radio reports.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the precinct of Parliament House on Thursday, 7 January 2021.
“President Donald J. Trump today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the second Inauguration of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, on Thursday, January 7, 2021, in Accra, Ghana.
“The Honorable Dr. J. Peter Pham, Ambassador, United States Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa, will lead the delegation,” a statement from the White House said.
It added that the US ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, is a member of the two-member delegation.
2020 election was free and fair
President Nana Akufo-Addo has stated unequivocally that he won the 2020 presidential polls free and fair.
According to him, in all “sincerity and honesty,” the elections were free and fair.
Akufo-Addo defeated Mahama in the polls, collecting 51.302% of the votes while the latter had 47.359%.
Mahama, however, rejected the outcome, filing a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge it.
12 heads of state to attend Akufo-Addo’s swearing-in ceremony
Meanwhile, at least 12 heads of state have so far confirmed their participation at the president's inauguration on Thursday, January 7, 2021.
The countries are Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Chad, Liberia, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Benin and Niger. For Gambia, Nigeria, Gabon, Gambia, India and France would have their foreign ministers representing their leaders.
Others include the UK Minister for Africa, US Special Envoy, President of ECOWAS Commission, AU Commission Chairperson among others.
Mahama’s election petition good for Ghana
President Akufo-Addo has praised the decision by former President John Dramani Mahama to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential polls in court.
According to him, the challenge by the NDC flagbearer is healthy for the country.
“I recognize my main opponent in the election has gone to the Supreme Court to seek their intervention over his concerns on the outcome of the polls.
“It is good for the nation that in the end, he chose the legal path instead of the pockets of violence that attended the immediate aftermath of the elections,” the president said in his last SONA.
Akufo-Addo accepts "Fellow Ghanaians" nickname
President Akufo-Addo has affirmed a nationally-acclaimed "fellow Ghanaians" nickname he was given in line with his COVID-19 updates and addresses to the nation.
While speaking at the last State of the Nation Address of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic on January 5, 2021, the president praised Ghanaian ingenuity in creating such a name.
Local rice has become the preferred rice in many homes in Ghana
President Akufo-Addo in his last SONA said that Ghana's local rice has grown in popularity and has become the preferred choice in many Ghanaian homes.
The president made this know at the last State of the Nation Address of the 7th Parliament of Ghana's Fourth Republic.
He went on to indicate that on the agricultural front, Ghana managed to stay afloat and cut down on imports of basic foodstuff that were hitherto not grown on a large scale in the country.
