The Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who announced this in parliament yesterday, said the address would be in line with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution which mandated the President of the Republic to deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation at the beginning of each session of parliament and before a dissolution of the House.

The President is expected to use the opportunity to tout his achievements during his tenure of office and recount salient happenings in different segments of the economy, bordering on security, industry, services, education, healthcare delivery, sanitation and agriculture.

The President is also expected to outline the progress that has been made so far in the country, the challenges over the past year and the way forward.

It will be the President’s final state of the nation address before his first term expires on January 6, 2021.

Decent

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, in his opening remarks at the beginning of the fourth session of the seventh Parliament, urged members of the House to be decent when the President appears.

“The House is privileged to host the President for the state of the nation address as required under the constitution.

“I congratulate members on the decency extended to the first gentleman on his last visit to the House and I respectfully request members not to depart from our new understanding to consolidate the good repute for the House,” he stated.

Nomination forms

The President last Monday picked nomination forms at the headquarters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to kick-start the process to launch his bid for a second term as President.

With a banker’s draft of GH¢20,000 issued in the name of the party, the Director of Research at the Presidency, Mr Victor Newman, picked the forms on behalf of the President to begin the process.

The President will need 10 party members in good standing in each of the 16 regions to endorse his nomination before the forms can be returned to the party’s headquarters on or before February 20, this year.