President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday morning returned from Abuja after attending the inauguration of the Nigerian President Olusegun Ogbasanjo for a four-year second term of office.

The Foreign Minister, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo; Minister of Regional Integration and NEPAD, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku; Deputy Minster of Employment and Manpower Development, Mrs Angela Ofori-Attah and Ms Mercy Bampo of the Office of the President, accompanied President Kufuor.

Briefing newsmen on arrival, Nana Akuffo-Addo said during the four-day visit the President participated in the Extraordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, held under the theme:" A Fresh Down for Africa".

He said the President also attended a meeting of the implementation committee of NEPAD (New partnership for Africa's Development).

Nana Akuffo Addo said in a public lecture delivered by the President, which went down very well with Nigerians, he commended them for organising successful elections.

He said the ECOWAS Chairman described the election as being most relevant to the fact that Africa was gradually coming to realization and awareness about how governance should be carried out.

The Foreign Minister said the NEPAD implementation committee meeting discussed the need to build upon such priorities as agricultural development with emphasis on information technology on the continent.

The Minister said he briefed the Summit on the outcome of the recent Sub-Regional Ministerial visit to the capitals of some European countries and the USA to raise funds in support of EcoForce.

Vice President Aliu Mahama; Ibrahim Omar, Dean of Diplomatic Corps; Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Seth Obeng and Ministers of State and officials of the Foreign Ministry were at the Kotoka International Airport to meet the President.

PIC: President John Kufour of Ghana , left, and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, right, stand together during the presidential inauguration lecture at the Ecowas Secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, May 28, 2003. Soldiers and police clamped down on Nigeria's capital where workers set up bulletproof glass barriers Wednesday to protect the president at a swearing-in ceremony overshadowed by assassination plot allegations and violent protest fears. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)