Leadership (Abuja)
5 January 2009
The election of Prof. John Atta-Mills as Ghana's next president has vindicated Africa of alleged incompetence and unwillingness to conduct peaceful and hitch-free elections, Nigeria 's President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has said.
The President, in a congratulatory message to Mills yesterday, said the election of the opposition leader is exemplary and should serve as a guide for the African continent.
According to Yar'Adua, the Ghanian polls , 'Has once again allayed insinuations on Africa 's competence to conduct a hitch-free democratic elections.
Yar'Adua's message was relayed to the Ghanian President-elect through the Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana , Mr Musiliu Obanikoro. He added that the way the country was able to resolve the stalemate of the election has made the country and continent proud. 'I am highly delighted to congratulate you on behalf of the President and the good people of Nigeria for this hard won victory. As Africans, Ghana has done us proud. We hope and pray that the spirit with which the election was tough and won will be nurtured and promoted not only in Ghana, but also in West Africa.
Atta Mills was declared winner of Ghana 's Presidential run-off election of December 28, 2008 by the country's electoral commission on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Vice President Goodluck Johnatan is to lead an inspection team to Bauchi State tomorrow to assess the football facilities in the state preparatory to the under 17 world football championship tagged Nigeria 2009.
Principal among the facilities the Vice President is expected to inspect are the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Zaranda and Awalah Hotels, Games Village , BACAS and The Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.
While the stadium, the best of its kind in northeast sub-region, is expected to be one of the venues for the championship, the two hotels are to provide accommodation to players and officials. However spectators are expected to be accommodated at the Games Village while BACAS and The Federal Polytechnic will serve as training grounds for the players.
Zaranda Hotels which is wholly owned by the state Government is already being renovated and upgraded while the Games Village training ground is also receiving attention as carpet grass and other necessary materials are being put in place. All the facilities needed for hosting the event are expected to be in place as the experience in hosting international events like the world cup.
Chairman,Publicity Committee for the VP's inspection, Alhaji Maigari Muhammad Khanna, confirmed the information about the VP's visit to our correspondent yesterday.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
