Ghana's president takes over as head of ECOWAS

YAMOUSSOUKRO – Ghanaian
President John Dramani Mahama
has been elected the new head
of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) at a
summit of the 15-nation regional
bloc, his Ivorian predecessor
announced on Saturday.

"I am very happy to tell you that
yesterday (Friday) my peers…
decided to name as head of
ECOWAS, my brother and friend
John Dramani Mahama, the
president of the Republic of
Ghana," said Ivory Coast's leader
Alassane Ouattara in a speech at
the closing of the ECOWAS
summit.

Ouattara has wrapped up two
one-year terms as head of the
West African group during which
he dealt with the democratic
transition in Guinea-Bissau and
the war in Mali.
Ousattara touted his
achievements in Mali, which has
faced a coup and Islamist
insurgency during his tenure.
"The election of President
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta on
August 11, 2012, was the result
of a successful transition in Mali,"
he said.

The bloc's new leader, 55-year-
old Mahama, was vice president
in Ghana when president John
Atta Mills died in July 2012. He
was elected the leader of a
country seen as beacon of
democracy in West Africa in
December that year.(AFP)

Reference: Vanguard