Accra, Oct. 13, GNA – The Military High Command, led by Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), has expressed condolences to former President Jerry John Rawlings and his family on the loss of his mother, Madam Victoria Agbotui.
Lt. Gen. Akwa said the Command was saddened by the news of the loss of Madam Agbotui, a statement issued by Mr Kobina Andoh Amoakwa, the Communications Director, Office of the former President, said on Tuesday.
“Mothers are very special persons and they give encouragement, enlightenment and take care of us from cradle to grave. The loss of a mother is an occasion for great regret. Take consolation in the fact that it is a call to higher glory,” the CDS sated.
He assured the former President and his family that the Ghana Armed Forces stood in readiness to offer every support necessary to ensure the success of the funeral.
“We shall roll out all the assets that you have put in place in the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure her departure will be captured in gold,” Lt. Gen Akwa assured.
The CDS was accompanied by Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, Chief of the Army Staff; Rear Admiral Seth Amoama, Chief of the Naval Staff; Air Vice Marshal Frank Hanson, Chief of the Air Staff; Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu, Chief of Staff General Headquarters; Air Commodore Appiah Agyekum, Director General, Personnel and Administration; and Chief Warrant Officer, Barker Ramous, Forces Sergeant Major.
The statement said on the same day, former President John Agyekum Kufuor sent a delegation, led by his eldest son, Mr John Addo Kufuor, to commiserate with the former President and his family.
Mr Addo Kufuor said: “The country has been informed of the loss of a matriarch and the mother of our President, President Rawlings. Of cause in our society, the matriarch plays a very important role.”
“The matriarch is an arbiter of peace and a store of knowledge for the family. If she is the matriarch of the President’s family, literally she is the mother of the nation.”
The statement noted that a delegation of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, led by its President, Reverend Philip Naameh, also called to console former President Rawlings and the Agbotui Family on their loss.
Archbishop Naameh, also the Archbishop of Tamale, said even though the loss of a mother was sad and painful, they prayed that the Good Lord granted President Rawlings and the Agbotui Family comfort and courage to accept the loss with the hope that she was having eternal rest in peace.
The Bishops, in a written message, said: “We will like to convey to you, your Excellency, and your entire family, our heartfelt sympathy. We commit the gentle soul of your dear mother into the loving hands of God and pray for your consolation and that of your family.”
The Conference made a donation towards the funeral.
Mr Affail Monney, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), also led a delegation to console the family and recounted how he met Madam Agbotui as a young reporter when the former President instructed that he and his colleagues interviewed her.
“I happened to be in his office and he instructed us to go to Madina and interview his mother. The interaction we had is still lodged in my memory. A lovely mother, very calm disposition and I wish she could have exceeded the 100 plus years she spent on earth.”
Other members of the GJA delegation were Mrs Linda Asante Agyei, Vice President; Madam Audrey Dekalu, National Treasurer; Mr Kofi Yeboah, General Secretary, and Mr Fiifi Nettey, Administrator of the GJA Secretariat.
The Gbi Traditional Council, led by Togbe Keh XII, Queenmothers from the Hohoe Traditional Area, and NDC Executives from the Korle Klottey Constituency also visted, the statement said.
Mr Dan Abodakpi and Mr Victor Gbeho, both former ambassadors, thanked the delegation and briefed them on the funeral arrangements scheduled for Saturday, October 24, in Accra and Dzelukope in the Volta Region.
GNA