Officials arrive for inauguration ceremony

Accra, Jan. 6, GNA - Heads of State and Officials have started arriving to witness the inauguration of President John Agyekum Kufuor for a second term of office.

President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone was the first to arrive followed by Prime Minister of Angola, Piedada Dias Dos Santos, who was accompanied by his wife.

Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Ports, Harbour and Railways met them on arrival.

The Heads of State inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Fifth Battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces made up of three officers and 96 men.

Other Heads of State expected to attend the ceremony are President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Theodora Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and President Amadou Toumani Toure of Mali, President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo, President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire, Chairman Gyude Bryant of Liberia and President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso.

Also expected to attend the ceremony are Vice President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as representatives from Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Libya, Senegal, The Gambia, Namibia, Swaziland and the Pan-African Parliament.