President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia, Koku Anyidoho and ET Mensah at the Asomdwee Park on Sunday
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo yesterday honoured late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, the third President of the Fourth Republic, when he commissioned the refurbished Asomdwee Park in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his passing.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the commissioning of the refurbished park by government should be a joyous occasion, particularly as it is in recognition of the feat achieved by the late President.
“But today’s event is not one of those normal occasions. Exactly ten years ago, a truly tragic incident occurred, one we had never witnessed, and hope will never reoccur in our history, certainly not in our lifetime – the death of a sitting President in office, the death of the third President of the Fourth Republic, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills.”
According to President Akufo-Addo, he was a contemporary of the late President at the University of Ghana, adding both were members of the same hall, Legon Hall, and played in the same university football team.
“As fate would have it, we ended up belonging to and leading different political organisations. We contested the presidency in 2008, and even though some will say it does not count, I won the first round and he won the second round, the round that really mattered. I was looking forward to a third round in 2012, when the Almighty called him home on July 24, 2012,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo also refuted claims that the tomb of former President John Evans Atta Mills at the Asomdwee Park has been tampered with.
This follows allegations by the family of the late statesman that government has allowed the Atta Mills Institute to tamper with the grave of the former President without informing them.
“There have been unfortunate accusations levelled by some persons against government about the supposed desecration of the tomb of the late President in the process of rehabilitating the park.
“Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is good to note that these false, malicious statements have been firmly dispelled and debunked by the Coastal Development Authority, through the agency’s CEO, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, in a public statement under his hand,” President Akufo-Addo said during the anniversary.
On his part, Samuel Koku Anyidoho, Chief Executive of the Atta Mills Institute was full of praise for President Akufo-Addo for his contribution towards the redevelopment of the Asomdwee Park.
He, however, assured the gathering about his determination to ensure the regular maintenance of the park.
The President noted that, sometime after becoming President, he became aware of the sad state of Asomdwee Park, and, in 2020, he received a request from the late President’s Communications Director, Koku Anyidoho, for the assistance from government to rehabilitate the facility.
“I agreed, and, subsequently, I instructed the Coastal Development Authority to undertake a thorough rehabilitation of the Park, with the close co-operation of the Institute,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “It was not right that the park had been allowed to deteriorate considerably over the years since his burial in 2012, and I am happy that it was under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, allegedly his ‘fiercest critic’, that Asomdwee Park has been elevated to a status befitting the final resting place of a President of the Republic of Ghana.”
The President explained that he did so not to exploit or take advantage of any so-called divisions in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), stressing that “those alleged divisions are not of my making, and do not, in any way, inure to my benefit.”
Reiterating his sincere condolences to the former First Lady and spouse of the late President, Ernestina Naadu Mills, the entire family, the NDC, and to the people of Ghana “for their great loss”, President Akufo-Addo stated that “the man from Ekumfi Otuam will not be forgotten.”
The grave of the late Atta Mills
BY Charles Takyi Boadu & Vincent Kubi