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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 Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has thrown the 2027 race wide open by zoning
its presidential ticket to the South for a single four-year term, a move that instantly puts Peter Obi and other southern aspirants in play.
The decision came at the party’s national convention on Saturday after a motion by Rep. Afam Victor Ogene of Anambra’s Ogbaru constituency. Delegates adopted it without dissent.
Under the arrangement, the South gets the ticket for 2027 only. Once that four-year term ends, the ticket automatically shifts back to the North.
The zoning formula settles months of backroom jostling inside the NDC over where the party should field its standard-bearer. By locking the North into a wait-and-hold position, the convention has effectively cleared the runway for southern heavyweights to move.
For Obi, the former Anambra governor who ran in 2023, the resolution removes the biggest structural hurdle to picking up the NDC’s form. Other southern aspirants now have the same green light to purchase and process nomination forms.
Party leaders framed the deal as a balance between regional equity and political strategy ahead of 2027. Critics inside the party will watch whether the “automatic” handoff to the North holds once the race gets hot.
For now, the South has its window. The question is who walks through it first.
The Senate has amended its Standing Orders, limiting eligibility to contest for its presiding officers and principal officers to only members of the 10th Senate.
In the new rules, a senator shall only qualify to contest for Senate Presidency and Deputy Senate Presidency if he/she has won election to the Senate for at least one term of four years.
To be eligible to contest for any principal office, a senator must have won election for two consecutive periods, the last one must immediately precede the inauguration of the next Senate.
By implication, any senator who plans to vie to become a presiding officer in the 11th Senate (2027-20231) must have been a senator for at least one term preceding the inauguration.
For principal offices (chief whip, deputy whip, minority whip, etc), the senator must have been a member of the current 10th Senate, or they are not eligible to contest.
Under the new provision on “qualification of presiding officers”, it is stated in Order 3,”A Senator vying for the Office of the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate must have served at least one term of four (4) years in the Senate as a senator of the Federal Republic.”
Similarly, nomination for the positions shall strictly follow ranking in the following order: former president of the Senate; former deputy president of the Senate; former principal officers of the Senate; senators who had served for at least one term of four (4) years; and senators who had been members of the House of Representatives.
According to the provision, it is only the absence of the above that a first-term senator can be nominated to contest for the positions of presiding officers.
Under Order 5, a senator seeking to be a principal officer must have “served as a senator for at least two consecutive terms immediately preceding such nomination. “
The Senate passed the rules after a lengthy executive session presided over by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday.
The new rules impliedly gives Akpabio, other former presiding officers, principal officers and ranked senators the right of first refusal.
Findings indicated that the new rules might be what some sources described as “self-serving” or designed to serve the interest of the present presiding officers and members of the 10th Senate.
For instance, some State governors contesting the 2027 election to the Senate in the hope of vying for the presidency of the Senate, are effectively barred by the new rules.
It was also learnt that even within the Senate, the new rules will stop some senators from vying to become principal officers as they would not have attained two consecutive terms prior to 2027.
The National Publicity Secretary of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has claimed that the party favoured Peter Obi more than any other aspirant while with them.
Abdullahi said this while faulting Obi’s claim that internal wrangling was part of the reason he defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Featuring on Arise Television’s Prime Time, Abdullahi said Obi and Kwankwaso’s defection means a lot because they are significant politicians.
He said: “I will be lying to say that their defection didn’t mean anything because these are two significant frontline politicians in this country and when you lose those two politicians then you will fill that you have lost something.
“But it’s not a mortal blow because what we are trying to do is to build a broad based coalition that would include everyone.
“The reason we are building this coalition is because our individual parties have been destabilized and the only way out was to come together.
“There was a consensus among us that the direction this country is going was quite precarious and the only way we can win election and rescue the country from the misrule of the APC is to build a party that is formidable enough.
“Obi and Kwankwaso have a different political idea of what the party should be doing.
“Obi said himself that once we present two candidates against President Tinubu, we have given him a chance. I wonder what has changed.
“So if the legal challenges are the reason that we have left after creating the impression that ADC is drowning in these mountains of legal challenges, the answer is no.
“At the moment, we have only three cases which are flimsy without trying to be prejudicial, as the National Publicity Secretary of ADC.
“I can tell you that none of the aspirants and leaders have been favoured like Peter Obi.”
