Prez appoints new CDS and Army Chief
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appointed Major-General Obed Asamoah Akwa as the acting Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).
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Until his appointment, Major-Gen. Akwa was the Chief of Army Staff.
“I believe that his career and personality make him strongly qualified to act in the top job of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and it is my pleasure to appoint him to act as such, pending consultation with the Council of State,” the President said.
Major-Gen. Akwa takes over from Air Marshal Michael Sampson-Oje, who has reached the statutory retirement age and informed the President accordingly.
President Akufo-Addo has also appointed Major-Gen. William Azzuri Ayamdo as the acting Chief of Army Staff.
However, both appointees will have to await the full composition of the Council of State, as the Constitution makes it mandatory for the President to make such appointments in consultation with the Council of State.
Samson-Oje takes a bow
The President told reporters at the Flagstaff House that earlier in the day, Air Marshal Sampson-Oje had come to inform him that he had reached the retirement age and had come to formally say goodbye to him (the President).
“I expressed the gratitude of the nation and the people of Ghana to him for his service to our nation for 42 years and wished him well,” he said.
According to the President, the defence structure was such that there could be no vacuum in command, saying the Constitution reposed the responsibility for appointing the CDS in the President, in consultation with the Council of State.
“With the elevation of Major-Gen. Akwa to the position of CDS, there is the need for a replacement as the Chief of Army Staff or Army Commander and again the Constitution imposes that responsibility on the President.
“Pending the constitutionally required consultation with the Council of State, I have decided to appoint Major-Gen. Ayamdo to act in the position of Chief of Army Staff or Army Commander,” Nana Akufo-Addo stated.
Two others maintained
The President has, meanwhile, maintained Air Vice Marshal Maxwell Mantsebi-Tei Nagai as Chief of Air Staff and Rear Admiral Peter Kofi Faidoo as Chief of Naval Staff.
“The decision I have made is that they should be retained in their current positions as Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval Staff. So now we have the full complement of the service chiefs in our country,” the President said.
Major-General Asamoah Akwa
Announcing the appointments, President Akufo-Addo said the following about Major-Gen. Akwa:
He is an infantry officer and graduate of the Military Academy at Teshie and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the UK and has had an exemplary career in the GAF.
He has obtained qualifications from the GAF Command and Staff College and the Defence Staff College of India.
He has had extensive international peacekeeping experience in various parts of the world and was the Brigade Commander of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) five years ago.
He has also been the Commander of the Ghana Military Academy, Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and has, since July 2016, acted as the Chief of Army Staff.
Major-Gen. Akwa also served as aide-de-camp of former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
Major-General William Azzuri Ayamdo
On Major-Gen. Ayamdo, President Akufo-Addo said the following.
He is one of the outstanding soldiers of his generation, a soldier who, after a brief period of training at the Military Training School at Teshie, graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
He has had a very distinguished career, serving in several units of the GAF. He also pursued training in prestigious military institutions — the Ranger School in the US, junior staff course in Nigeria, artillery training in China and intelligence courses in the US.
He has been Director-General of Defence Intelligence and is currently the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training School (MATS). He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in July 2016.
He is a known expert in counter-terrorism measures, a fellow in Counter-terrorism of the National Defence University in Washington, DC, and a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies of London.
He has had vast experience in international peace support operations in Lebanon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Pakistan.