A former aide-de-camp to former President J.A Kufuor, Major General Obed Boamah Akwa, has been appointed as the acting Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) two weeks after Starrfmonline.com tipped him for the job.
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced his appointment on Thursday after the outgone Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Michael Samson-Oje paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House.
Maj. Gen. Akwa, who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, is expected to be confirmed when a new Council of State is constituted.
“He is had an exemplary career in the Ghana Armed Forces. His career and personality make him strongly qualified for the top job of the Armed Forces,” Nana Akufo-Addo said of Maj. Gen Akwa.
The commandant of the Military Academy and Training School Major General William Azure Ayamdo has been appointed the acting Chief of Army Staff.
Until his appointment as Chief of Army Staff on July 1, 2016, Maj. Gen. Akwa was the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).
Major General Akwa enlisted into the Ghana Military Academy in October 1975. He was commissioned into the Ghana Army as a Second Lieutenant in March 1977 with extensive experience in Global Security, Defence and Strategic Studies. He also has an excellent understanding of the theory and practice of international peace support operations. He served as the Western Brigade Commander/Ghanaian Contingent Commander with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO).
Brig Gen Akwa had his basic military training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom from 1976-1977. He has academic qualifications in Global Security (MSc) from Cranfield University, England, 2003; Defence and Strategic Studies (MSc) from Madras University, India, 1977; and Public Administration (Certificate) from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Accra, Ghana, 1989.
