The newly-elected Africa Paralympics Committee President, Samson Deen, has landed in Ghana following his election during the recent General Meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Mr Deen arrived in Ghana on November 3 at the Kotoka International Airport with Evans Bobie Opoku, the Deputy Sports Minister, who was also in Rabat to support his pursuit.
Deen defeated Morroco’s Hamid El Aouni with 24 of the total votes cast and the latter 15 votes.
Presidents and General Secretaries of National Paralympic Committees from across the continent were among the 41 delegates who voted.
Deen will replace the outgoing APC boss, Leonel da Rocha Pinto, who has been in charge for 13 years.
After 13 years, he will succeed Angola’s Leonel da Rocha Pinto who led APC since 2008 and was re-elected unopposed in 2017.
“I want to say a big thank you to the Sports Minister, but my biggest gratitude goes to the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo. Without him, I doubt I would have won this election.
“While I was in Morocco, I faced a lot of challenges but with the help of Nana Addo, I got the support of Ghana. He brought the Deputy Sports Minister [to support] my agenda and it is through him that I am now the president.
“He believed in me and gave me the platform to show that indeed, a Ghanaian can do the job for the whole African continent,” he concluded.
Ben Nunoo Mensah, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, congratulated Mr Deen on his victory.