Service chiefs pledge loyalty to President

The Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of Police and Service Commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces have pledged their loyalty and allegiance to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, President John Dramani Mahama.

Led by the CDS, Vice Admiral Matthew Quarshie, the IGP and Service Commanders called on the President after Monday's Change of Guard at the Flagstaff House to congratulate him on the Supreme Court's validation of his election in December 2012.

The Change of Guard ceremony continues to attract the interest of the general public with this month's edition attracting many spectators including students from the Commonwealth and Volta Halls of the University of Ghana.

Present at the ceremony were Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, Chief of Staff Prosper Bani and the Minister for Defence Mark Woyongo. Also present were the Deputy Chief of Staff Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, Chief of Army Staff Major-General Richard Kwame Opoku Adusei, Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshall Michael Sampson-Oje and the Chief of Naval Staff Real Admiral Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro.

The relevance of upholding the Change of Guard ceremony is to embrace unity in diversity, where the three arms of the Ghana Armed Forces- Army, Air Force and Navy, come together for a common purpose. It also instills strict discipline in personnel, which is an essential tool for national cohesion and development.

President John Mahama instituted the Change of Guard ceremony on 5th May 2013 and takes place on the first Monday of every month.