Ghana’s former Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh has tweeted a picture of a letter sent by former President John Mahama on Tuesday in which he tells his successor that he is withdrawing his request to remain in his official residence. The letter also says he is withdrawing a request for an office.

Mr Mahama’s failure to vacate the house when his term ended on Saturday has caused huge controversy in Ghana. Critics say his continued presence there is unlawful and has also left incoming Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia without an official residence. Officials have insisted that Mr Mahama’s request to stay on, and also receive an office, were not approved.

Ghana’s former President John Mahama has not been given permission to stay in the house he occupied while in office, an official says.

Mr Mahama’s failure to vacate the house when his term ended on Saturday has caused huge controversy.

He says he reached agreement with new President Nana Akufo-Addo’s team to remain there last month.

But Yaw Osafo Mafo from Mr Akufo-Addo’s team said the request had been rejected, reports said.

“We have not approved of his request, and I want to repeat we have received the request and the requests are two – for him to be given his ex-gratia where he lives and also be given another property as his office,” Mr Mafo was quoted by the Daily Guide newspaper as saying.

Mr Mahama stayed in the vice-presidential residence during his mandate.

Critics say his continued presence there is unlawful and has also left incoming Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia with nowhere to live.

Ghana’s parliament passed a law in October stipulating that outgoing ministers and other government officials had three months from the date of the new president’s inauguration to hand over state-owned homes or face forcible eviction.

But the law does not apply to former presidents and vice-presidents.

The presidential villa in Ghana is a grand stool-shaped building known as Flagstaff House.

But former President Mahama did not live there, preferring to remain in the home of the vice-president – a post he held before his elevation to the presidency in 2012.

So, Flagstaff House remained vacant during his rule. Now, it is expected to be occupied by his successor, Nana Akufo-Addo, who won elections last month.

The question is: Where should the new vice-president live? As far as Mr Mahama is concerned it is not in the house he is occupying. The new government seems to disagree. Will it send the removal trucks? Watch this space.

The former president’s office has dismissed the reports as “mischievous” and insisted that the last parliament had also resolved that a home and an office should be be given to Mr Mahama “in line with convention and existing precedent”.

Mr Mahama’s office said Mr Bawumia was instead expected to live in another building, Australia House, a government safe house previously occupied by former Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.

Mr Mahama was widely credited for accepting defeat in elections last month, rather than challenging the result.

He is among regional mediators trying to persuade The Gambia’s long-serving ruler Yahya Jammeh to step down after he lost elections to property develop Adama Barrow.

We believe that only one person can emerge as the winner. And while it is true that only one person can be elected president, in reality, and certainly in a democracy such as ours, every election is an opportunity for the people of this nation to express their will, to have their say in who will lead them in the shaping of Ghana’s future.

My fellow Ghanaians,

My brothers and sisters,

A while ago, I phoned Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and offered him my congratulations for emerging the winner of the 2016 presidential elections.

Every election is a hard-fought battle, and this one was no exception. For those of us who choose to be contenders and go into electoral contests, we go about it as a win-lose proposition.

We believe that only one person can emerge as the winner. And while it is true that only one person can be elected president, in reality, and certainly in a democracy such as ours, every election is an opportunity for the people of this nation to express their will, to have their say in who will lead them in the shaping of Ghana’s future.

In this way, each victory belongs to the people. And the true winner is always Ghana.

It is precisely on account of my belief in Ghana and its future that notwithstanding the irregularities associated with this election, I have decided at this stage to congratulate the president-elect.

With this understanding, I would like to assure the people of Ghana of my commitment to the sustenance of our country’s democracy and would work to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition to the incoming administration.

I remain committed to the unity and stability of our great nation.

I am profoundly grateful to the almighty God and the people of Ghana for the opportunity to serve in the high office of president.

As president I have done my bit and made a contribution to the political, social and economic development of our country.

I would have cherished an opportunity to do even more, but I respect the will of the Ghanaian people.

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to the individuals who have made this journey with me.

I wish to thank all of the people who worked on my campaign for their dedication and tireless efforts.

I wish to thank the leadership of the NDC, all of our members, foot soldiers and sympathisers for their belief in the principles of social democracy and their commitment to the vision.

Likewise, I would like to thank the members of my administration for their diligent service and for bringing to fruition many of the plans we set out to accomplish — the numerous programmes that have been implemented and the infrastructural projects that have been completed and are ongoing.

I wish to thank my able Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur for his unflinching support and loyalty during our period in office.

To the service commanders and men and women in uniform, I wish to extend my profound gratitude to you for your selfless service to Ghana.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with you to ensure the internal and external security of our country.

I am very proud of you.

To organised labour, the civil and public services, traditional rulers, the clergy, workers, youth groups and all identifiable bodies, I am immensely appreciative of your contributions to the development of our country in the last four years.

I wish to thank my family: my children, my brothers and sisters, and especially my wife, Lordina, for standing as firmly with me through the times of challenge and difficulty, as they have through the times of achievement and promise.

Most importantly, I am grateful to the almighty God who has sustained us through the implementation of the Agenda for Transformation. I am eternally grateful.

Ghana, this land that we all call home, is a powerful nation with a history of taking the improbable and making it possible.

We have been a leader on so many fronts, not just on this continent but also in the world – from our attainment of independence, to our development of a democracy that maintains at its core a pledge of stability and a respect for the rule of law, to our formation of much-needed peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions for other nations in need.

And we have been able to do all of these things because we have always functioned as one nation, one people.

Notwithstanding our diversity, religious faiths, ethnic groups and political affiliations, we have always recognised that we are all, ultimately, on the same side—the side of Ghana and its progress.

We see all throughout the world in countries that are much older than ours the devastation that division and intolerance bring.

So I pray that as we move forward, even as we voice our differences and possibly even disagree on agendas and decisions and other details of governance, we always keep in mind the fact of our shared destiny, and the undeniable possibilities of power that exist in our unity.

It has been, without a doubt, one of the most tremendous privileges of my life to serve this great nation as President, and to work on behalf of all Ghanaians.

I will leave it to history to be the judge of my time and contributions while in that highest office.

To all of the people who cheered us on, who gathered at rallies to show their support, and who queued in long lines to vote for me, I know that this is not the outcome that we wanted and hoped for, but I say to you that this day should not mark the defeat of your role in this nation’s political process.

We must do our part to ensure that the progress of all our past governments, from the very first one led by our nation’s founder, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to this most recent one that I have led, continues — because progress does not happen all at once; it takes time and dedication.

In the words of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, “Forward ever, backward never.”

At this point let me commend the electoral Commission for living up to its constitutional duty in successfully conducting the 2016 elections. My thanks also goes to the media and all stakeholders for their role in the election.

Again, allow me to offer my sincere congratulations to the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo.

I thank you for your kind attention.

May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless our homeland Ghana.

John Mahama is the president of Republic of Ghana.

This is text of President John Mahama’s concession speech on the recently held 2016 Ghanaian presidential election.

Ghana’s main opposition party said on Thursday it had a strong lead in elections and called on President John Mahama to concede defeat – comments dismissed as “treasonable” by the incumbent’s campaign team.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) said its candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, had won 52 percent of the vote according to its own tally of Wednesday’s presidential poll, against 44.8 percent for Mahama.

The Electoral Commission said it had not certified any results in the closely fought race to lead the West African nation that has seen a series of peaceful transfers of power.

But figures shown by television and radio stations showed the opposition making gains in both races.

“These are results that were declared at the polling stations … I am calling on the president to concede defeat,” said NPP campaign chief Peter Mac Manu.

A senior official for the ruling party, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, countered that Mahama was “comfortably ahead” and asked his supporters to remain calm.

“The results are still trickling in and the call and declaration by the NPP is irresponsible and treasonable because it can throw this country into chaos,” he added.

Ghana is one of Africa’s most stable democracies and voters have ejected the government of the day twice since 2000.

Until 2014, the country also had one of Africa’s most dynamic economies, though growth has slowed in part due to a fall in the price of its commodity exports.