Côte d’Ivoire Prime Minister Patrick Achi at French Hospital Ivory Coast News

The 65-year-old man was appointed prime minister in March after the country’s second prime minister was killed in less than eight months.

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Patrick Achi has been admitted to a Paris hospital for medical examinations, according to reports.

The 65-year-old man, a close aide to President Alassane Ouattara, was appointed prime minister in March after the country’s second prime minister was killed in less than eight months.

Two sources close to Achi told Reuters news agency that he had suffered “severe fatigue” since his appointment in March. Achi replaced Hamed Bakayo, a 56-year-old with cancer. Bakayoko replaced Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died in July 2020 of heart problems.

The government did not comment immediately.

In the case of Gon Coulibaly and Bakayo, government sources told reporters in the weeks leading up to the death that they were suffering from fatigue.

Achi is considered a potential successor to Ouattara, and in October 2020 he won the third parliamentary election again. Ouattara nominated Gon Coulibaly as the ruling party’s candidate, but decided to elect Gon Coulibaly after his death.

Achi is a key figure in the debate, addressing a large deficit in energy generation that has tightened electricity supply in urban areas for several weeks.

He visited France last week for health reasons, but left early to take part in discussions about power issues, sources said. He returned to Paris on Tuesday, canceling the route of the hydroelectric dam.

Achi will undergo regular examinations in Paris and rest for a few days before returning to Côte d’Ivoire, sources said.