Security was water-tight as John Dramani Mahama minutes ago took the oath of office as Ghana President to consummate his victory in last month’s presidential election in the West African country which the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) rejected as being fraught with fraud.

All Ghanaian security agencies – from the police to the air force, navy, army and secret police – have been fully mobilised to ensure that everything went well at the Black Stars Square in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

Taking the oath of office administered by Chief Justice Georgina Wood, Mahamma, erstwhile deputy to John Atta Mills, who died in office last year, swore “in the name of God . . . to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of Ghana” as well as “to serve, protect and defend the Constitution of Ghana.”

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria is among 16 African leaders and the representatives of key world powers attending the ceremony.

President Mahama is presently giving his acceptance speech, in which he has appealed to Ghanaians to forget the past and face the future for the overall interest of Ghana and Ghanaians.