Thursday 13th February, 2020
Accra, Feb 13, GNA –
Former President John Dramani Mahama has paid tribute to the late Barimah Nana
Akwasi Agyemang, describing the Asanteman royal as a principled, nationalist
who contributed immensely to the development of Kumasi and Ghana.
The former
President made the remarks when a
delegation from the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II led by the Amoamanhene,
Nana Agyenim Boateng, called on him to announce the funeral and burial
arrangements for Nana Akwasi Agyeman, popularly known as ‘Okumkom.’
President Mahama,
who is also the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), noted
that the late Nana Agyemang was successful largely because of his insistence on
strict compliance with the law, which sometimes led him to fall out with people
who thought he was heavy-handed.
“When Nana Akwasi
was Mayor, he would put his foot down in dealing with issues and this led to
complaints about him and the NDC government…”, he recalled.
The late Nana
Agyemang passed on at the age of 86.
A prominent member
of the NDC, he was the longest serving Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of
the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).
He also served as
Deputy Minister for Environment in charge of the Northern Sector and because of
his unique position in Asanteman, he was the only Minister who stayed and
performed his ministerial duties in Kumasi.
Additionally, he
also served as a Special Envoy.
`Joining Mr. Mahama
to receive the delegation were the Chairman of the NDC Samuel Ofosu Ampofo,
General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, former Chief of Staff Julius Debrah and
Dr Callistus Mahama.
GNA