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President Bola Tinubu is set to depart Lagos on Monday, for Accra, Ghana, to join world leaders for the inauguration of President-elect John Dramani Mahama on January 7.
Persecondnews reports that Mahama, who previously served as Ghana’s 12th president from 2011 to 2017, was reelected in December 2024 and will succeed President Nana Akuffo-Addo, who has been in office since 2017.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his official X handle on Sunday, Tinubu’s trip to Accra is at the invitation of Mahama, who had visited the Nigerian leader earlier in December.
The two leaders have a longstanding personal relationship, reflecting the strong bilateral ties between Nigeria and Ghana.
As the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Tinubu will join other African leaders at the inauguration ceremony.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and other senior government officials will accompany President Tinubu on the trip.
This visit underscores the importance of regional cooperation and solidarity as Nigeria and Ghana continue to strengthen their relationship.
Also, US President Joe Biden has named a delegation to attend the inauguration of Mahama.
According to a statement from the White House, the four-member delegation to Ghana will be led by Shalanda D. Young, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget.
Other members of the delegation include Virginia E. Palmer, the US Ambassador to Ghana; Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, California; and Frances Z. Brown, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the White House’s National Security Council.
The former president defeated incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo, paving the way for his return to the Jubilee House after being voted out in 2017.
During his campaign, Mahama’s primary message was centred on reviving Ghana’s struggling economy and tackling unemployment.
In an interview with VOA, he discussed his plans for job creation, school reform, and preserving the environment.
“All the opinion polls showed the economy and employment were the most critical issues. So, we focused our message on job creation and economic recovery, and eventually, it paid off.
“If the economy is in a bad way, it affects education, agriculture, sports, it affects every sector of the country. So, we are going to have to be dealing with stabilizing the economy,” he said.
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