Mills, Ghanaian President, dies of throat cancer

Ghanian President, John Mills, died on Tuesday, few
hours after announcing to Parliament that he was
leaving for Nigeria.
The British Broadcasting Corporation reports that 68-
year-old Mills, who had been suffering from throat
cancer, died in the capital, Accra a few hours after
being taken ill.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the
sudden and untimely death of the President of the
Republic of Ghana," a statement from the Presidency
said.
Chief of Staff John Newman, who addressed the
nation on state-run GTV and TV3, said Mills died at
the 37th Military Hospital in Accra. Newman gave no
details about the cause of Mills' death.
Information Minister Baffour also declined to
elaborate. "Yes, I can confirm (his death), but I can't
say more," he told The Associated Press.
The BBC reports that Mill's voice had been
degenerating in the last few months.
A presidential aide said the leader had complained of
suffering pains on Monday evening. He had returned
to Ghana after visiting the US for medical checks,
Reuters reports.
The late President celebrated his 68th birthday on
Saturday on a low-key with orphans in Accra.
He was a former law professor and served as Ghana's
vice president to President Jerry Rawlings from 1997
to 2000. He ran for president unsuccessfully in 2000
and 2004 before winning the election in 2009.He was
to run for a second term in December and Mills was
to be the ruling party's candidate.
He spent much of his career teaching at the
University of Ghana. He earned a doctorate from
London's School of Oriental and African Studies
before becoming a Fulbright scholar at Stanford
University in Palo Alto, California.
Vice-President John Mahama was sworn in as
President on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian election commission said December's
presidential and parliamentary elections would go
ahead as planned.
"The election calendar remains unchanged – it's
purely a party matter," election chief Kwadwo Afari-
Gyan told Reuters, explaining that it was up to the
ruling National Democratic Congress to find a
candidate to replace Mills.
In March, US President Barack Obama received Mills
in the Oval Office and praised him and his country as
"a good-news story" in Africa.