Liberia’s new President in good health-Spokesman

LIBERIA: Liberia’s new President Joseph Boakai has been declared “perfectly fine” by his doctors, his office says.

The 79-year-old failed to reach the end of his inauguration speech and had to be helped away from the podium during his swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

His office said he had suffered heat exhaustion but had now resumed his normal activities.

Concern about Mr Boakai’s health was a major issue during last year’s election campaign.

He narrowly defeated the outgoing president, 57-year-old former football star George Weah, in a run-off election in November.

Mr Boakai had been speaking for around 30 minutes at his inauguration when it became clear that he was having difficulty continuing.

He had already been sworn in as Liberia’s oldest-ever president at the outside ceremony held at the Capitol Building, the seat of parliament in the capital, Monrovia.

The temperature had reached more than 30C in swelteringly humid conditions.

Video footage from the ceremony had shown a man fanning papers near Mr Boakai’s face, before he was taken away.

“His doctors have declared him perfectly fine,” Charles Snetter from the president’s office said in a statement.