Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has described his meeting with President John Evans Atta Mills as cordial and frank but refused to give details of discussions which lasted close to two hours.
When asked by Castle correspondents to comment on the controversial “all die be die” statement by the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, he directed the media to ask the person who made the statement.The former president would also not comment on whether President Mills was a “unifier”.
He said he was invited to the Castle to hold discussions with President Mills and that was all he did.The former president was at the Castle at the instance of President Mills to discuss issues of mutual interest believed to centre on national and international concerns.President Mills and his immediate predecessor exchanged pleasantries in an atmosphere of peace before discussions went behind closed doors.
President Mills welcomed the former president with a warm handshake, saying “Mr President, welcome to your office” to which he replied, “Mr President, it is our office.”The Director of State Protocol, Mr Ken Kanda, asked former President Kufuor, in keeping with Ghanaian tradition, to state his mission to the Castle.Former President Kufuor responded that he was at the Castle at the invitation of President Mills and therefore wanted the latter to state why he had invited him.
President Mills said the invitation was for discussions on issues of national and international concern.He thanked the former president for his quick response to the invitation.Former President Kufuor left office in 2009 after two terms, from January 2001 to January 2009.
The two main parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by President Mills and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have always exchanged harsh words and clashed, no matter which of them is in government or opposition.
The end of service benefits for the ex-president and his appointees also raised a huge public debate with the NPP saying the former president was not being treated fairly. They are also likely to discuss the people’s revolutions sweeping across North Africa and the Arab world, and the volatile situation in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, where a huge disagreement over who won the November 28, 2010 presidential run-off election, has led to the swearing-in of two presidents – incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and opposition leader Alassane Ouattara – and is pushing the country deeper and deeper into crisis.
The international community considers Ouattara as the winner of the vote and has asked Gbagbo to hand over power to Ouattara but the former has refused. The meeting between President Mills and Former President Kufuor also comes less than one week after a furore over President Mills not acknowledging the former president and the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, during the February 17 State of the Nation address to Parliament.
The President immediately apologised saying his failure to acknowledge the dignitaries was not intentional and said he would follow protocol during his next state of the nation’s address to Parliament next year.
The minority leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in retaliation, snubbed the President by refusing to escort him out of the Chamber, as is required by Parliamentary convention.
President Mills has also been concerned about the language of politicians and the general population on public platforms or in the media, and made a veiled response to the controversial “All die be die” statement of Nana Akufo-Addo, the current flag bearer of former President Kufuor’s NPP.