Accra, Ghana - Ghana's President John Evans Atta Mills returned home on Saturday from a one-week visit to the US which, he said, was in the supreme interest of the West African nation.

The main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had criticised the president's sudden return to the US only a few days after he had returned from that country and Canada, but he brushed them aside, saying he decided to sacrifice his holidays in the interest of the country.

“...I had to take a very important decision. I had a few assignments to undertake in the US. I told myself, why don’t you take advantage of the holidays? Instead of spending your holidays in Ghana, you could kill so many birds with one stone; forgo part of your holidays, go to the US and make the necessary contacts, which I did,” Mills said.

“I rather sacrificed part of my Christmas holidays to perform an important task on behalf of our dear nation and I have no regrets for so doing,” he added.

Pana 01/01/2012