I’ll willingly step down as President on January 7 — Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said it has been the greatest honour for him to serve as President not once, but twice, and assured Ghanaians he will hand over power to an elected President on January 7, next year.
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“I will willingly step down as President on 7th January, 2025, “President Akufo-Addo stated yesterday when he hosted some senior citizens of the country at the Jubilee House to mark this year’s Founders’ Day which fell on Sunday, August 4.
“I do so because I will be in good company, that of Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor, who in the Fourth Republic have been privileged to serve two terms as President of the republic,” he stated.
The old men and old women were treated to sumptuous food and beautiful tunes of Ghanaian highlife music. President Akufo-Addo and other government officials as well as the senior citizens took to the floor to dance to the tunes.
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The President touched on some of the things he had done in the last seven years as President, especially in steering the ship of state through the deeply troubled times of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
“It's been a very difficult time, but I believe most of us can see that we are now turning the corner and returning our economy to normalcy and reviving growth; the growth that made our economy one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the years prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he recounted.
He gave an assurance that just as the country did it in the past, it would do it again.
Last challenge
President Akufo-Addo said his last major challenge was to preside over peaceful and fair elections in December. He explained that that was a commitment he intended to realise with the help of all Ghanaians because the people of Ghana deserved no less than to be given the best atmosphere in which to choose freely their next President and Members of Parliament.
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“I intend to ensure that our reputation as the beacon of democracy and stability in Africa and the world is maintained,” he assured. The President said he was aware that there were some Ghanaians who questioned his commitment to the Founders’ Day ceremony, “because they believe that we were all asleep in Ghana until the arrival of Kwame Nkrumah and the Convention People’s Party (CPP)”.
He said that he had already stated his views on that several times, including in his speech last Saturday evening and did not intend to go over that matter again. “Suffice it to say that I believe that the consensus that parliament arrived at in 2019, honouring Kwame Nkrumah with a memorial day and preserving the historical importance and significance of August 4th in our history is a good consensus, and it deserves to last,” President Akufo-Addo explained.
He commended Ghanaians for their work for the country and their support for him as President and expressed the hope that the same support would be provided to my successor, noting that “It is no secret who I hope that will be. And I hope the people of Ghana will agree with me”.