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Mahama, Macron Hold High-Level Bilateral Talks in France
By Eric Elezuo
True to his words targeted at reshapening the economic narratives of the people of Ghana, President John Dramani Mahama, has paid a diplomatic and economic visit to France, where he held high level bilateral talks with his counterpart, Mr. Emmanuel Macron.
The Ghana President’s visit corresponds with his intention to maximize his second term in office towards making the Eldorado that it was during his first coming between 2012 and 2016.
The presidency.gov.gh, the authentic platform for activities of President Mahama, captured the visit as follows:
President John Dramani Mahama and his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, held high-level bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in the deepening diplomatic and economic relationship between Ghana and France.
The meeting, held at the official invitation of President Macron, followed the successful conclusion of the One Health Summit in Lyon, which both leaders co-chaired on Tuesday.
During the deliberations, President Macron expressed his profound gratitude to President Mahama for his leadership in co-chairing the Lyon summit. Highlighting Ghana’s growing influence in global health policy, President Macron announced that Ghana has been selected as the first beneficiary of the newly introduced National Health Compact.
The French leader also lauded the Accra Reset Initiative, an ambitious framework introduced by President Mahama. Macron described the initiative as “very important,” noting that its principles were frequently referenced as a blueprint during the Lyon summit.
For his part, President Mahama expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and the opportunity to co-chair the One Health Summit, noting its critical importance to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and global pandemic preparedness.
On the economic front, President Mahama officially thanked France and China for their pivotal roles in supporting Ghana’s debt restructuring process. He informed President Macron that the Ghanaian economy has shown remarkable resilience, stating that “the economy has bounced back and is doing very well, with very positive indicators.”
The two leaders discussed a broad range of development cooperation, including building on years of support from the French Development Agency (AFD), the Accra-Kumasi Expressway, ensuring food security through year-round farming initiatives, advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and enhancing support for maternal health services.
President Mahama emphasised that the strength of the Ghana-France relationship is rooted in a shared commitment to democracy, the rules-based international system, and global peace.
“Ghana and France stand together on key issues of peace and security”, President Mahama stated, as the two leaders analysed the impact of global conflicts on distant regions and discussed strategies to maintain stability within the West African sub-region.
Prior to arriving at the Élysée Palace, President Mahama and his delegation met with the President of the French Senate.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
