President John Evans Atta-Mills Saturday night left the shores of Ghana for the United States of America to undergo what he explained as a routine medical check-up.
President Mills did not indicate how long he would be away, but assured the expectant nation he would be away for �a few days.�
Issues about the President�s health had been treated as �a state secret� by the ruling National Democratic Congress, leaving many people speculating about the true state of his health.
It is recalled that some Ghanaians working at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, located in 1275 York Avenue, New York, USA, claimed they had seen President Mills at the Centre during last year�s Christmas festivities, at a time he had claimed he was in New York to meet investors.
Reports had been doing the rounds in the past couple of days about President Mills� alleged poor state of health, which had reportedly kept him away from appearing in public for official functions.
President Mills� last public appearance was on Sunday, June 3, the day he visited the crash site of the cargo plane that crashed into the Hajj Village near the El Wak Stadium in Accra, claiming the lives of 12 Ghanaians.
In his last public appearance over two weeks ago, the president looked visibly pale and frail, fuelling the perception that he had been unwell for the last couple of weeks, the reason why Ghanaians, including those working at the Castle, had not seen him during this period.
After that event, the whereabouts of the president had become a �state secret�, with the presidency refusing to inform Ghanaians about what had happened to the president.
Reports emanating from the corridors of power suggest that President Mills may not run for a second term in the December polls in view of the recent bouts of weakness and illness that some key figures in the party believe may not leave him with the required strength and concentration for the gruelling electioneering campaign.
But before his departure for the US at the weekend, President Mills assured the nation he was �very, very strong.�
He condemned earlier rumours that he had died, asking the journalists around to take a closer look at him to ascertain if he was indeed a dead person. �You look at me as a person, are you seeing the person who has died?� President Mills demanded from the journalists, lamenting: �I heard about this sometime ago and I said what is happening. Indeed, this is not the first time that I have heard people say this about me. Let me just say that I�m very, very strong and I don�t know the basis for saying that I am dead.�
He continued: �Well, let me just say that under our Constitution, the President has a duty to inform Parliament whenever he is going outside the country. Sometimes it is not even necessary to give you the details. What I have decided to do is to go for medical check-up. So I�m going for a few days and then come back. I�m able to sit down with the doctors and talk about things. Of course, there are all kinds of certain things which I believe I can strengthen myself for.�
President Mills gave the assurance that the next six months was going to witness a lot of work being carried out by his administration.
�Let me tell you: six months we are going to work very, very, very, very, very, very hard. I remember the last time when I came back from the G8, he, apparently referring to Vice President John Mahama, had been in Sunyani and when I spoke to him he wasn�t well at all. He wasn�t well at all and when I came back from G8 as far as I�m concerned this is nothing I will say calls for something by all Ghanaians. I�m only going there to make sure that yes we look at this and that that that� and come back to continue the work that I�m going to do.�
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