The Government has decided to extend diplomatic recognition to the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya as the legitimate ruling authority of that country. In a statement exclusively released to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday by the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Government said in arriving at the decision, it had “taken due account of the political and security situation in Libya particularly, the NTC’s effective control over a greater part of the country and the commitment of the NTC to democratic and pluralistic elections”. Ghana called on the NTC “to work towards a fast and smooth transition to constitutional and democratic governance and ensure the safety and protection of African immigrants in the territory of Libya”. The NTC, which began the push to oust the Libyan leader, Colonel Muamar Gaddafi, in February this year, as the wind of democratic change blowing across the Arab world reached Libya, now controls nearly all of the North African country. The NTC captured the Libyan capital, Tripoli, several days ago and Gaddafi, who had been in power since September 1, 1960, is on the run. The Benghazi-based NTC, Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, says it will move to Tripoli soon.