Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday, congratulated President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana on his victory at the December 7 general elections, urging him to demonstrate magnanimity and take steps to unite his country.
Obasanjo stated these in a letter he personally signed and made available to newsmen.
Electoral Commission of Ghana had on Wednesday, declared Akufo-Addo winner of the tightly contested presidential election, defeating his long-time opponent, John Mahama.
The commission’s chairperson, Jean Adukwei Mensa, had announced at a press briefing on Wednesday that Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party got 6,730,413 or 51.59 per cent of total votes while Mahama of the National Democratic Congress polled 6,214,889 or 47.36 per cent of total votes.
Obasanjo, in his letter, said Akufo-Addo’s “re-election by the people of Ghana to govern the country for another term of four years is a testimony of your performance in office so far and I believe that you will remain as enthusiastic, as energetic, as focused, and as committed as you have been in the last four years in serving the people of Ghana and indeed the rest of Africa for the next four years.
“With the elections behind you, I urge you to be magnanimous in victory, unite the nation, and bring all hands on deck for the growth, development and progress of Ghana.”
The former president also urged the re-elected president “to take leadership and explore all available means both in Ghana and in the rest of Africa to secure safe, effective, available, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines for all Ghanaians and their African brothers and sisters.”