President John Mahama has welcomed Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang back to Ghana after a weeks-long medical leave abroad, describing her return as both reassuring and politically significant.

On Thursday, May 22, President Mahama acknowledged that her absence had left a noticeable gap in the administration.

He noted that even a short official visit to neighbouring Togo in her absence had provoked strong political backlash, including threats of impeachment from the opposition.
"I particularly have missed you, because even travelling out of the country has been difficult; they've threatened to impeach me for going to Togo while you were away."

This marks the President’s first public response to criticisms from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), who raised constitutional concerns about the absence of the President, Vice President, and Speaker of Parliament simultaneously.

The Minority had argued that the lack of a formally designated Acting President at the time may have violated Article 60 of the 1992 Constitution.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, who left the country in early April for further medical treatment, was met at the airport by President Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama. Also in attendance were Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and other senior government officials.

President Mahama commended the Vice President’s dedication and praised the preparatory work she did before her departure, which he said was instrumental in sustaining the government's 120-day social contract programme during her absence.
"Since you left your colleagues, we've all missed you. We held the 120-day social contract programme, and everybody said you should have been there, but with all the work you did before you went, we continued, and I think that we were able to present to the people of Ghana a significant percentage of the things that we had promised. But in all this, you were missed."

"Ghana is safe, things seem to be on the right track, and you've come at the right time to come and continue the work that you so beautifully started, and your colleagues are very happy to have you back," he said.

President Mahama shared that doctors have declared Vice President Opoku-Agyemang fully fit to return to work, even joking that she came back looking “20 years younger.”
"That's what the professor told me, and that you are okay, and fit for the job, but I will ask that you take it easy for a little while. We'll see how things go," he said.