<\/p>\n
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) last Friday lost one of its leading members, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, and described his death as a great loss.<\/p>\n
Mr Ashitey, who was also a former Greater Accra Regional Minister and former Regional Chairman of the NPP, passed on at the International Maritime Hospital in Tema on January 7, 2022.<\/p>\n
He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema East in the second, third and fourth Parliaments under the Fourth Republic of Ghana.<\/p>\n
In Parliament, he served on the Mines and Energy, Foreign Affairs, Government\u2019s Assurances and the House committees, and also served as a Minister of State at the Ministries of Food and Agriculture and Trade, Industry and President\u2019s Special Initiatives under the Kufuor administration.<\/p>\n
During his tenure as Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NPP, he led his party to retain majority of the parliamentary seats in the 2016 general election.<\/p>\n
Mr Ashitey was also aspiring to contest the National Chairmanship of the NPP this year.<\/p>\n
Until his demise, he was a member of the National Executive Council of the NPP and the NPP National Council.<\/p>\n
He is reported to have hosted some friends and family members in the afternoon prior to his demise at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Tributes<\/p>\n
In a tweet, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia expressed his condolences to the family on the passing of Mr Ashitey, who was a former Minister of State, former Tema East MP and NPP regional chairman.<\/p>\n
He wrote: “My thoughts are with them at this difficult period.”<\/p>\n
NPP<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports that the NPP has described the death of Mr Ashitey as a great loss to the party.<\/p>\n
“His death is a great loss to the party. We will liaise with the family to give him a befitting burial,” the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu, said after leading a party delegation to the residence of the former Greater Accra Regional Minister in Tema.<\/p>\n
“We are saddened by this and want to use this opportunity to get the family to take heart,” he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a book of condolence has been opened at his residence.<\/p>\n
Many people, mainly from the NPP, are trooping to the residence to commiserate with the family.<\/p>\n
Among the mourners were the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr John Boadu; the Director of Communication of the party, Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa; former MP for Tema Central, Mr Kofi Brako; the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta; the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa; the Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tema, Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey; Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Greater Accra Region.<\/p>\n
Dr Letsa called on the family last Saturday and expressed shock at the demise of his former colleague.<\/p>\n
\u201cHon. Ishmael Ashitey was a great friend and colleague. He will be greatly missed. May his soul rest in perfect peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Asamoa wrote: \u201cWe have lost a pillar of the NPP. He taught so many the path to politics. Go in peace, our political father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mentor<\/p>\n
The immediate past MCE of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Mr Felix Mensah Nii Annan-La, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said Mr Ashitey\u2019s death would create a huge vacuum in the NPP.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a product of some of the young politicians Mr Ashitey mentored in Tema,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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Source: graphiconline.com<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Featured Video\n<\/p>\n\n
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