President Akufo-Addo has left Ghana for Togo capital Lome.
A statement from the presidency said Akufo-Addo left the country on Tuesday, 26th June 2018 as mandated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to help resolve the ongoing political crisis in that country.
Akufo-Addo is expected to return to Ghana on Wednesday, June 27, 2018.
“The Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead,†the statement from the presidency said.
In 2017, there were series of street protests in Togo led by opposition parties with a demand that the president, Faure Gnassingbé steps down.
The protesters also demanded a return to the 1992 Constitution of Togo which puts term limits on the presidency.
Faure Gnassingbé has been President of Togo for 12 years.
Prior to his election as president, he was appointed by his late father, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, as Minister of Equipment, Mines, Posts, and Telecommunications, serving from 2003 to 2005.
Following Eyadéma’s death in 2005, Gnassingbé was installed as President with support from the army. Doubts regarding the constitutional legitimacy of the succession led to heavy regional pressure being placed on Gnassingbé, and he subsequently resigned on 25 February.
He then won a controversial presidential election on 24 April 2005, and was sworn in as President. Gnassingbé was re-elected for a second term in 2010.