President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has the intention to have further meetings with Ghana’s living ex-presidents, a communiqué from the presidency has stated.
A landmark meeting between the president and his living predecessors was held at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday, April 18. The purpose of the meeting was for President Akufo-Addo, who was sworn in on January 7, 2017 as John Dramani Mahama’s successor, to seek the views of the former presidents “on some governance-enhancing measures his administration intends to take”.
The president had expressed that intention at his swearing-in. “I am in the unique position of being able to draw on the wisdom and experience of three former Presidents of the Republic, their Excellencies Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama,” he said at the Independence Square on January 7.
“They represent the continuity of the institutions of our Republic, for which we thank God.” The former leaders are Jerry John Rawlings, who is the first president of the Fourth Republic, ruling from 1993 to 2001, John Agyekum Kufuor, the second president of the Republic, ruling between 2001 and 2009, and Mr Mahama, who is the fourth president of the Republic, ruling between 2012 and 2017.
The meeting at the presidency lasted for two hours. It is said to have been held “in a good atmosphere, one of frank exchanges and mutual respect”.
A communiqué issued after the meeting noted that President Akufo-Addo has the intention to have further meetings with the three former presidents in the future.