First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ebo Barton Odro Saturday led a government delegation to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for the country's 45th Independence Anniversary.

The Right Honorable Barton represented President John Mahama in Malabo.

Ghana's President could not make it to Equatorial Guinea because he was preoccupied by an equally important assignment in Tamale, Ghana, where the University for Development Studies (UDS)  conferred an Honorary Doctorate degree on former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Ebo Barton Oduro was accompanied by other government officials like Deputy Information and Media Relations Minister Felix Kwakye Fosu and other officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Mr. Kwakye Fosu told Joy News' Seth Kwame Boateng in an interview in Malabo that President Mahama through Ghana's First Deputy Speaker extended his congratulatory message to his Equatorial Guinean counterpart Obiang Mbiago Nguema Mbasago.

He added that Ghana's presence was significant being the first country in the sub Sahara region to gain independence.