The Valley View University (VVU) in Accra has announced that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema will be the special guests of honour at the 2023 graduation ceremony scheduled for July 9th.

President Hichilema, who was inaugurated in August 2021, is the first Adventist to become a president in Africa and a lay leader of the SDA Church.

The VVU Council Chair, Pastor Dr Thomas Techie Ocran, invited the presidents during a visit to the Jubilee House in Accra to seek assistance in facilitating the Zambian President’s attendance. The occasion will focus on enhancing people-to-people relations between the two countries, particularly within the church’s environment and diplomatic ties between their respective governments.

VVU is Ghana’s first private university to be granted a charter, established by the West African Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists in 1979. VVU was absorbed into the Adventist university system operated by the West-Central Africa Division with headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 1997.

The Ghana Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists manages the university locally, with a vision of being a leading centre of excellence for value-based Christian education, and its mission to foster the physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual development of students and staff for meaningful service to God and humanity.

The Council Chair emphasized the significant role of the two countries in the Adventist Church and the importance of their collaboration in promoting humanity’s cause. The visiting delegation also took the opportunity to pray for the President, nation, and people.

President Nana Akufo-Addo expressed his excitement to host his personal friend, President Hichilema, and lauded VVU for its contributions to Ghanaian society in line with the university’s vision and mission over the years.