The memorial service to honor the late President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills at Asomdwee Park in Accra faced disruption on Wednesday, July 24, due to disagreements.
The confusion arose when Koku Anyidoho, the dismissed deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), extended his scheduled time, causing a delay in the subsequent NDC event planned to commemorate 12 years since President Mills’ passing.
Two wreath-laying ceremonies were planned for the day, with the first organized by Mr. Anyidoho.
This event ran over time, delaying the second ceremony organized by the NDC and the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage.
According to the late President’s brother, Samuel Atta-Mills, Mr. Anyidoho brought in individuals he referred to as fake family members and instructed them to remain at the venue, preventing the NDC from commencing their program on time.
“You’re not related to this man and anybody could come here and celebrate him. He [Atta Mills] is for the country so why would you want to clash with us? And as a coward as he is, he ran away and left the people here – the fake family over here.
“… We didn’t intimidate anybody but when persuasion fails, force is applied. Indeed, we are at Asomdwee Park but when we talk to you and you don’t understand, sometimes a little bit of encouragement will make you move,” he explained.
In an interview with JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba, Mr. Atta-Mills, who also serves as the MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem constituency in the Central Region, alleged that Mr. Anyidoho is backed by ‘powerful individuals.’
“When they advise you and you don’t listen, this is what happens. But Koku should know that he’s hiding behind a political power. Every political power in this world has an expiration date. A day will come that the political power he is hiding behind will expire,” he warned.
Commenting on the incident, Mercy Araba Ahema Quarshie, the sister of former President Atta Mills, described it as ugly and disgusting, insisting that the attendees of the earlier ceremony were not their relatives.