Founder of the Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho has said that out of his respect for the late President John Evans Atta-Mills, he shall have no
Founder of the Atta Mills Institute, Koku Anyidoho has said that out of his respect for the late President John Evans Atta-Mills, he shall have no fight with brothers of Prof Mills, Cadman Atta-Mills and Sammy Atta-Mills.
In a tweet, he said “Let them live with their shame. Koku Anyidoho Institute will keep the legacy of President Atta-Mills alive. To God Almighty be the glory.”
Mr Cadman Mills accused Mr Anyidoho of using the refurbishment of the Asomdwoe Park to promote his institute and his paymasters.
Speaking at a function as part of the 10th anniversary of the death of Prof Mills, in Accra on Tuesday July 26, Mr Cadman Mills said “I saw his grave, there his name appeared a little bit except that it was spelt John Evans Atta Mills with a Hyphen.
“For somebody who claimed to know him very well to place hyphen between the two names, even though the person who has the name himself has never put a hyphen in that name. They used this so-called refurbishment to promote themselves , to promote their institute and to promote their pay paymasters.”
On Tuesday July 19, Sam Atta Mills accused Koku Anyidoho and the Coastal Development Authority (CoDA) of tinkering with the tomb.
“A group calling itself Atta Mills Institute that the family doesn’t even recognize, and Coastal Development Authority, have gone to break the grave of President John Evans Atta Mills. They have removed the tomb, and they claim that they are rebuilding it,” the Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo Abirem said at press conference in Parliament.
He added “My question is that, we have a family tradition. Now that they have touched someone’s grave, is the body still in there? Who has the body? Why will you touch the body without informing the family head? Under whose authority?
“Why do they want us to always go through grief? This is a former president, why will the government allow this to happen? This is an insult to the family and the nation.”
Both Koku Anyidoho and CoDA all denied the claim.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the refurbished Asomdwoe Park on Sunday July 24.
He said he was happy that the burial place of the Late Professor John Evans Atta Mills who died on the seat as President some 10 years ago, Asomdwoe Park, has been elevated to a status befitting the final resting place of a President of the Republic of Ghana.
Mr Akufo-Addo indicated that sometime after becoming President, he became aware of the “sad state of Asomdwoe Park, and, in 2020, I received a request from the late President’s energetic Communications Director, Koku Anyidoho, who runs the Institute named after the President, for the assistance of Government to rehabilitate the facility.”
He said he agreed, and, subsequently, instructed the Coastal Development Authority to undertake a thorough rehabilitation of the Park, with the close co-operation of the Institute.
“It was not right that the Park had been allowed to deteriorate considerably over the years since his burial in 2012, and I am happy that it was under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, allegedly his ‘fiercest critic’ that Asomdwoe Park has been elevated to a status befitting the final resting place of a President of the Republic of Ghana.
“I did so with that objective solely in mind, and not to exploit or take advantage of any so-called divisions in the political party to which he belonged. Those alleged divisions are not of my making, and do not, in any way, inure to my benefit.
“There have also been unfortunate accusations levelled by some against Government about the supposed desecration of the tomb of the late President in the process of rehabilitating the Park. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is good to note that these false, malicious statements have been firmly dispelled and debunked by the Coastal Development Authority, through the agency of its CEO, Mr. Jerry Ahmed Schaib, in a public statement under his hand.
“My wife Rebecca and our children join me and the Government in reiterating our sincere condolences to his wife, Naadu, his son, his entire family, to the National Democratic Congress, and, indeed, to the people of Ghana for their great loss. The man from Ekumfi Otuam will not be forgotten. Accordingly, ladies and gentlemen, it is my singular honour, formally, to commission the Asomdwoe Park.
“President John Evans Atta Mills, my good friend Fiifi, rest and abide in perfect peace in the bosom of the Almighty, until we all meet again on the last day of the Resurrection. May God continue to bless his soul, and us all, and may God bless our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong,” he said.
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