President Akufo-Addo is picking a former aide-de-camp to former President Kufuor, Major General Obed Boamah Akwa, as the new Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Starrfmonline.com can reveal.

Maj. Gen. Akwa, who is currently the Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, will be serving in an acting capacity until a new Council of State is constituted which will pave way for the president to consult for a substantive person.

An official announcement is expected to be made by the Presidency in the coming days.

Until his appointment as Chief of Army Staff on July 1, 2016, he was the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).

During his swearing in at the Flagstaff House, former President John Mahama described Major General Akwa as a “smart, loyal and professional officer.” He advised him to continue to be loyal to the State and the Constitution.

“It is my hope that you carry out your mandate without fear or favour,” the President advised him.

Maj. General Akwa will be succeeding the current Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Michael Samson-Oje.

PROFILE



Major General Akwa enlisted into the Ghana Military Academy in October 1975.

He was commissioned into the Ghana Army as a Second Lieutenant in March 1977 with extensive experience in Global Security, Defence and Strategic Studies.

He also has an excellent understanding of the theory and practice of international peace support operations. He served as the Western Brigade Commander/Ghanaian Contingent Commander with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO).

Brig Gen Akwa had his basic military training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom from 1976-1977. He has academic qualifications in Global Security (MSc) from Cranfield University, England, 2003; Defence and Strategic Studies (MSc) from Madras University, India, 1977; and Public Administration (Certificate) from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Accra, Ghana, 1989.