President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Bawumia with some mourners after the church service
The entire New Patriotic Party (NPP) fraternity and government, led by President Akufo-Addo and Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, jam-packed the beautiful Grace Presbyterian Church at West Legon in Accra to observe a solemn one-week memorial service of the late Emmanuel Kyeremanteng Agyarko, who was the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.
The MP died on Wednesday, November 21 at the Yale University Hospital in the United States after he had gone there to seek medical treatment following a long term problem with his gall bladder.
The one-week celebration attracted family members, friends and sympathsers, including old boys of Prempeh College where the late MP had his secondary education and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he had his tertiary education.
MPs from both the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Majority in Parliament were in attendance together with the Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye and his deputies.
Present were the National Chairman of the NPP, Freddie Blay; Chief of Staff, Frema Opare; Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo and a former Minister of Finance under the previous NDC administration, Seth Terkper.
Chairman Blay at the funeral
The whole vicinity of the church and the immediate periphery were completely taken over by people from all walks of life that had come there to mourn the death of the former legislator.
The crowd was so huge that vehicular traffic to the place was completely jammed, with people parking their cars on the way and walking to the venue.
Vehicles completely taking over the road to the church
The reverend minister in charge of the Grace Presbyterian Church, Rev Dr Abamfo Atiemo, who presided over the memorial service, asked the congregants to always do the right things that will please God, their maker.
According to the Rev Minister, the work of God is to always assist the vulnerable like the orphaned and the widow.
Rev Dr Abamfo Atiemo, in the sermon, said it’s very ungodly to cheat the vulnerable and also amass wealth at the expense of the poor.
He, therefore, charged the gathering to have humane heart for their fellow human beings and also discharge their divinely assigned duty to the satisfaction of God.
The National Organiser of the NPP, Sammi Awuku, who was present and spoke to the press, said the party is saddened by the death of the MP and that the party would definitely support the family to give him a befitting burial.
He said it would be too early to talk about bye-elections following the death of the MP but when the date is announced the party would be fully prepared for it.
Boakye Agyarko, the younger brother of the deceased and former Minister of Energy and some of his siblings, were full of emotions when friends and sympathisers took turns to console them after the memorial service.
The date for the final funeral rites of the late MP is yet to be made public.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr