Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo to rally other members of the African Union’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government and ensure that the developing vaccine against the deadly virus, known as Coronavirus, is efficacious and affordably available for Ghanaians and Africans.
BusinessDay reports that the request was made by former Nigeria’s president against the backdrop of Akufo-Addo’s re-election in Ghana, defeating his main political rival, ex-President John Mahama, polling 51.59% of the total vote cast as against 47.36% scored by the former president of Ghana.
Recall that Akufo-Addo is the Champion of African Union’s Financial Institutions (AUFI) which is an AU initiative designed for 50-year African development Agenda 2063 that serves as one of the preconditions for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and achieving Agenda 2063.
Based on these integral functions of Akufo-Addo at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government within the African Union, Obasanjo believes in the popular saying that “health is wealth” and urged Akufo-Addo in the congratulatory message addressed to the re-elected Ghana’s president, that the COVID-19 vaccines must not only be made available to Ghanaians and Africans but must also be reasonably affordable for the people get anywhere on the continent.
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“Let me hasten to congratulate you, the government, and the people of Ghana on the successful conduct of the Ghanaian general elections held on the 7 December 2020.
“Let me also congratulate you, your party the NPP, and all your supporters on your victory in the Presidential elections.
“Your 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. I pray that God will grant you even more success in your second term.
“Your Excellency, 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.
“You have been re-elected at a crucial time when the world is emerging from the socio-economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, there has been a breakthrough in developing a vaccine against the deadly virus.
“I encourage you 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.
“But in doing so, I urge you not to lose sight of your determination to have a Ghana beyond aid”, he said.
