NDC snubs Atta-Mills’ cemetery meeting …says invite came from party enemy

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has officially instructed its members and all persons associated with the political party to not participate in the commissioning ceremony of the newly redeveloped Asomdwee Park, the burial place of President John Evans Atta Mills, a ceremony planned for next Sunday, July 24, 2022 under the patronage of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

On the same subject matter, a brother of the late President Atta-Mills, Mr. Samuel Atta Mills,  Member of Parliament for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Constituency in the Central Region has harshly criticized Government for refurbishing the grave in which the former Presient was buried, which he claims was done without the consent of his family.

An official statement signed by NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu NKetia was categorical that the decision to boycott the July 24 commissioning ceremony was because the invitation letter sent to the party was written in the joint names of the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) and the Atta Mills Institute, a private organization which a former NDC Deputy General Secretary is the Founder and Chief Executive.

Mr. Asiedu Nketia , in his letter, addressed to the Chief Executive of CODA, Jerry Shaib,  explained the exact challenges the NDC has with Mr. Koku Anhidoho’s Atta Mills Institute being chiefly involved in the commissioning:

“We are concerned about the posture and activities of an Institute that has assumed for itself some form of mythical ownership of the name John Evans Atta Mills, three times NDC flag bearer and President of Ghanaians 2009- 2012. That Institute [the Atta Mills Institute] SIC appears to be serving as a vehicle for our political opponents to sow seeds of confusion in the minds of Ghanaians and obliterate the enviable legacy of late President Atta Mills, a man of peace who was elected unto office on the ticket of the NDC.

“It would be a shame, as the invitation purports, for President Akufo Addo to be associated with a divisive organization, well-known for its fabrications and abusive language, Let us be clear, the Institute in question has been on a collision course with the NDC party on whose ticket Prof. Atta Mills contested and won the 2008 election and became President”, Asiedu Nketia noted.

He continued in the letter: “For your information, its founder has been dismissed from the NDC. An unfortunate impression should not be created that the Institute is being used by the Presidency and the enviable Coastal Development Authority (CODA) to spite the Atta Mills family, former President John Mahama and the entire NDC for that matter.

“Any commissioning of the refurbished Asomdwee Park should in all sincerity, be a truly national affair befitting the stature and character of Prof JEA Mills, a man of peace who devoted his Presidency to the cause of national unity. The commissioning should be a national affair not just by invitation, but by the participation of key stakeholders, not usurpers, in the planning process.

“Given the above, we kindly request that you withdraw the invitations to the advertised function and meet with the NDC of which Prof. Atta Mills was leader up to the time of his untimely death, and alongside to his immediate family, review arrangements for the commissioning event which will reflect the true purpose and outlook of the Asondwee Park.

“Until that is done, the NDC will not participate in the proposed Commissioning event on the strength of invitations issued by the Institute. All persons associated with the NDC have been duly notified of this binding decision”, the letter noted.

Atta-Mills Brother Angry

Samuel Atta Mills, MP for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Constituency and biological brother of the late President Atta-Mills, on Tuesday told journalists in Accra that neither he nor the family of the late President were part of the planning of the  commissioning ceremony of the burial site.

He claimed that the Government, through the CODA, had touched and refurbished the grave of the late brother and this, according to him, is a blatant violation of their family traditions and customary practices.

Samuel Atta-Mills said per their family tradition, non-family members are forbidden from perform any works whatsoever at the grave of their late family member without the consent and prior approval of the family heads.

He asked rhetorically, that during the refurbishing of the grave, what sort of rituals may have been performed using the remains of the late Atta-Mills in the absence of his family members.

Mr. Samuel Atta-Mills questioned further whether anyone can be sure if indeed the late President was still intact in the grave or whether his body and bones had been taken out.

Re-Development

In July 2020, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Coastal Development Authority (CODA), Jerry Ahmed Shaib, announced that upon a directive from President Nana Akufo-Addo, Government was commencing a GHc4.4-million Asomdwee Park Redevelopment Project to transform the site into a befitting national monument.

The Asomdwee Park Redevelopment Project, he said, would involve general maintenance of the park, refurbishment of dilapidated buildings and the provision of drainage infrastructure.

Other works would include the construction of a mast and a protective wall and the laying of new pavement.

It is significant to note that during the July 2020 sod cutting ceremony to commence the Asomdwee Park Redevelopment Project, there was a wreath-laying ceremony,  for the late President Mills which was attended by a Presidential Advisor in the Office of the President, Mr Ken Amankwa; a former Speaker of Parliament,  Mr Edward Doe Adjaho; the CEO of the Atta-Mills Institute,  Mr Koku Anyidoho and  as some family members of the late President.

Mr Amankwa laid the first wreath on behalf of President Akufo-Addo for the people of Ghana, while the son of the late former President, Mr Kofi Atta-Mills, and Mr Koku Anyidoho laid the second and the third wreaths for the family of Prof. Mills and the Atta-Mills Institute, respectively.