Former President John Kufuor visits New Ghana President
A high powered
National Patriotic Party,
NPP, largest opposition party in ghana delegation led by former
President Kufuor have called on President
John Dramani Mahama at the
Castle,
Osu, to commiserate with him on the passing away of the late President
Mills and to congratulate him on his assumption of office.
The delegation included the former Vice-President,
Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the NPP flag bearer,
Nana Akufo Addo, the Chairman of the NPP, Mr
Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, and a former
Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani. Former President Kufuor said the passing of former President Mills left him and other members of the NPP in such a shock that they were yet to recover from.
He said the delegation was at the Castle first to congratulate President Mahama on his ascension to the high office of the Presidency and second to commiserate with him on the demise of the former President.
He said NPP would be collaborating with the government to give the late President a befitting burial, saying that "that is how it should be".
The former President said death was so mysterious that it even brought adversaries together, and stressed that the
NDC and NPP were not adversaries but rather opponents.
Former President Kufuor said the late President had "played his part to the hills", and died with honours as a serving President.
He said, President Mahama had served as a Vice-President before assuming the position of the President and therefore expressed the hope that President Mahama "will not forget the demands of the high office of the President to the people of
Ghana."
The former President advised President Mahama to manage the affairs of the country in a non-partisan way to erase the negative aspects of politics and expose the positive side to enable the country to come out of the election with flying colours and continue to be the beacon of democracy in
Africa.
In response, Ghana's new President John Dramani Mahama has promised to continue to pursue the peaceful legacy of the late President
John Evans Atta Mills to create a more united and stable country.
He also called for the collaboration of all political leaders, especially former Presidents
Jerry John Rawlings and
John Agyekum Kufuor as well as the flag bearer of the
New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo Addo, in pursuing the course of
peace and stability.
He also thanked Nana Addo for suspending his campaign to mourn with the government and also going to see the former
First Lady.
President Mahama said the gesture should be the first step towards getting the country "to stand together for Ghana to continue to be the beacon of hope in Africa."
The President described the death of the late President as "a great loss and totally unacceptable" and that he and government officials were in a shock.