President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been sworn in as President of the 4th Republic of Ghana on January 7, 2020. President Akufo-Addo who has been re-elected for a second term took the oath of office at a colorful ceremony in Parliament. “I Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo do in the name of the almighty swear that I’ll bear true faith and allegiance. I’ll uphold, protect, preserve the sovereignty of Ghana,” he stated while being sworn in by Chief justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah. The event attracted several heads of states including the President of Guinea, Alpha Conde, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of Guinea Bissau, Angola’s Vice President, Bornito de Sousa, Senegalese President Macky Sall among others. Akufo-Addo on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) beat the National Democratic Congress (NDC’s) John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 Presidential polls held on December 7. The verdict has since been contested by Mr. Mahama who argues that the party’s overwhelming evidence available makes it impossible for them to accept the results although some domestic and international observers have said the election was free and fair. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.

President Akufo-Addo has reacted to the structure of the eighth parliament of the Fourth Republic. Unlike the seventh parliament where there was a clear majority and minority sides of Parliament, the eighth has a slim majority since a lot of the sitting NPP Members lost their seats after the December 7 election. Currently, the NDC side has 137 seats, the NPP also has 137 and an Independent candidate. Some consider this to be a “hung” Parliament. A hung parliament occurs when no party holds a majority of seats in the House of Commons. This means that any government formed is either a coalition or a minority government. A hung parliament most commonly follows a general election in which no party wins a majority. Reacting to this while delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament, President Akufo-Addo said it’s the decision of Ghanaians and they “have no choice but to work with the consequences”. “The next parliament is not going to be like this one that ends today. I do not suggest that the House might not be as busy but the sitting arrangement…would certainly be different. The good people have spoken and given parliament almost an equal strength on both sides of the house. We have no choice but to work with the consequences of the desires of the people the house would have to be more accommodating of each other’s views and probably device new ways of conducting its affairs in the interest of the good governance of our people,” he stated. Peacefmonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu says he’s lost respect for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. According to him, the conduct of the man who was believed to be an advocate for the Rule of Law in a democracy has been disappointing and worrying. The Tamale South MP made this known when he spoke to the media after the President delivered the final State of the Nation Address. He said “I used to have enormous respect for Nana Akufo-Addo as somebody who have held the Rule of Law, believe and faith in Democracy but his conduct in the 2020 election is disappointing”. Haruna Iddrisu said in 2016 when John Dramani Mahama lost the election, he conceded defeat but Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is forcing himself to stay in power “that is why people are dying because you’re imposing yourself”. He noted that every President Ghana has had gets it easy on their second term but that is not the case of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo whose second term he believes will be a struggle. My News GH Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.

President Akufo-Addo says he is happy his main opponent in the December 7, 2020, presidential election, John Dramani Mahama who has petitioned the Supreme Court over the verdict. He explained that the action of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate will bring an end to weeks of protest by supporters of the party since he was declared President-elect by Electoral Commission Chair, Jean Mensa. Speaking in parliament during his final State of the Nation Address to end his first term of office, President Akufo-Addo said he was however convinced the election was organised in a free and fair manner despite the allegations raised by Mr. Mahama and the NDC. “I recognise that my main opponent in the election, former President John Mahama, has gone to the Supreme Court to seek its intervention, and grant reliefs that he believes were compromised in the conduct of the elections. “It is good for the nation that, in the end, he chose the legal path, instead of the pockets of violence that have attended the rejection of the results by his party in the period after the elections,” he said. President Akufo-Addo also used the platform to urge Ghanaians to make a “deliberate decision to invest in the rule of law and uphold the integrity of the institutions of state, so that no person or group of persons take the law into their own hands with impunity.” His comment follows a decision by the NDC’s flagbearer, John Mahama, on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, to file a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the December 7, 2020, presidential elections. This was after series of protest by supporters of the party over alleged voter fraud and irregularities in the polls. In a statement issued after the filing of the suit, the NDC had said the petition details “serious violations of the 1992 Constitution by the Electoral Commission and its Chairperson and Returning Officer for the Presidential Election, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa in the conduct of their constitutional and legal responsibility.” Mr. Mahama is therefore seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court to the effect that, “the purported declaration of the results of the 2020 Presidential Election on the 9th day of December 2020 is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.” The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo won the election with 51.3 percent of the vote while Mr. Mahama followed with 47.7 percent of valid votes cast. However, the NDC has refused to accept the results because of its claims of malfeasance in the polls. Myjoyonline Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.