Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson charged Ghanaians to participate in the transformation of Ghana by taking personal responsibility and supporting national initiatives.

Speaking at the National Prayer and Thanksgiving Service held at the forecourt of the State House, he noted that the onus of making Ghana a better place does not solely depend on President John Dramani Mahama, but every citizen.

He urged Ghanaians to rally behind President Mahama as he works to achieve his goals and plans for the development and improvement of the country.

“The transformation of this land will not be a task for just the president. With all the good intentions that he may have, the transformation of this land depends on us. We must not only be religious but also spiritual. So for all of us gathered here, I just like to tell you that biblical religious says one thing about all of us. It means that our belief in God entails our vision of the world and our place in that vision,” he said.

“So, anyone who believes in God must also formulate for himself his vision of the world, and must go on to formulate his place in this vision. Whatever vision of Ghana we have gathered here to express, we need to recognise that it will suffice to formulate and express a vision; we need to go ahead and formulate our own place also within the vision. That just means that we are looking for virtues in Ghanaians who develop virtue and live by virtue.

“Otherwise, greed will dominate this land, and when that happens, there will be negative externalities to be borne by all of us,” he said.

President Mahama, on the other hand, has stressed the need for citizens to embrace unity and respect in efforts to reset Ghana.

“Let us remain vigilant against the voices of tribalism, the voices of religious extremism and against the poison of political division. These are the seeds of division that we must never let take root in our precious nation, Ghana,” he declared.

National Day of Prayer is a new initiative under the Mahama-led administration that will bring Ghanaians together to pray, worship, unite, and reflect for the nation's prosperity.

The service was grouped into two sessions; the Christian service will take place at the forecourt of the State House at 8:00 am.

It was led by His Eminence Peter Cardinal Kodwo Appiah Turkson, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences.

While the Muslim service was held at the National Mosque in Kanda at 12:30 pm and led by Chief Imam, His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.

Tuesday, 1st July, Republic Day has been reinstated as a statutory public holiday after Parliament on Wednesday, June 25, passed the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which amends Act 601.

However, the government has noted that statutory holidays that fall on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday will be commemorated on Monday or Friday. As such, the government's decision to declare July 4 a holiday.