Liberia's new president, Joseph Boakai, has recovered from an episode of heat exhaustion that caused him to cut short his inauguration speech on Monday and has resumed his normal activities, the presidency said.
The 79-year-old, who defeated George Weah in a runoff election in November, was sworn in during an outdoor ceremony in sweltering heat in the West African nation's capital, Monrovia.
Boakai then paused during his speech and aides rushed to fan him. He resumed a few minutes later but halted again and aides helped him walk away from the podium, curtailing the ceremony.
The president's office released a statement later on Monday saying Boakai had suffered exhaustion but that doctors had since declared him "perfectly fine."
'Resumed activities'
"He has resumed his normal activities. He is expected to meet with the Ghanaian President and other dignitaries today," the statement added.
"Heat exhaustion contributed to the few minutes of disruption in his speech but the speech ended successfully and the president was advised by his doctors to come home as a result of that," Amos Tweh, secretary general of Boakai's party, told AFP.
"The president was not taken to the hospital. Everything went okay, the president is normal, and he's doing well. The president has resumed his normal presidential duties," he added.
Some of Boakai's opponents had raised concerns about his age and energy during election campaigning but his team dismissed the criticism.
Although the inauguration ceremony ended abruptly, Boakai had already taken the oath of office when he was helped away.
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