General News of Friday, 11 February 2005

Source: GNA

Kufuor leaves for Togo

Accra, Feb. 11, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor left Accra on Friday for Togo to join four other West African Heads of State mandated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to formally present to the Togolese Authorities a resolution ECOWAS Leaders passed at the extraordinary summit they held in Niamey, Niger, on Wednesday. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Presidential spokesperson and Mr D.K. Osei, Ambassador-at-Large, accompanied him.

The four other Heads of State are President Mamadou Tandja of Niger and Chairman of ECOWAS; President Mathieu Kerekou of Benin, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Toumani Toure of Mali as well as Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and Former President Alpha Konare, Chairman of Africa Union Commission. They are expected to express in strong terms to the Togolese Authorities the need to revert to the "status quo ante" by allowing the succession to the late President Gnassingbe Eyadema to proceed in accordance with the 1992 Constitution of Togo as amended in December 2002.

The Inspector General of the Police, Nana Owusu-Nsiah, some government officials and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr Ibrahim Omar saw President Kufuor off at the Kotoka International Airport.