General News of Friday, 22 July 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-07-22Asomdwee Park saga: Release Atta Mills' body for reburial in Ekumfi-Otuam - Family
Mills' resting place at Asomdwee Park before recent government-led upgrades
2022 marks 10th anniversary of Atta Mills’ death
Atta Mills’ brother angry over upgrades to his tomb
State-run CODA leading redevelopment of Asomdwee Park
Some members of the family of late President John Evans Atta Mills have demanded that government releases the remains of the former Head of State to allow for reburial in his hometown.
The
Read full articlefamily want their son to be relocated to Ekumfi Otuam, a town located in the Central Region.
Two senior family members who spoke to Accra-based Citi FM's reporter at the family house said they were unhappy with recent events surrounding the final resting place of their loved one, the Asomdwee Park in Accra.
“I am worried about the issues surrounding his tomb and burial. As a family, we are demanding that the body is brought back to us at Ekumfi Otuam for burial. It will even serve as a tourist attraction,” a family head stated.
The family also stressed that contrary to reports that they had been consulted before the government began upgrades to the Asomdwee Park, no member of the family was informed.
There has recently been a brouhaha on issues surrounding the park with days to the 10th-anniversary celebration of Atta Mills' demise.
A former aide of the late president, Koku Anyidoho, has been engaged in a public exchange of words with Samuel, Atta Mills' younger brother over some renovation around the tomb of the late Head of State.
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Samuel Atta Mills, who is the Member of Parliament of Komenda Edina Aguafo Abirem, KEEA, expressed concerns with upgrades on the tomb, stressing that it was culturally insensitive that a state-run authority had undertaken the upgrade without informing the family.
The Coastal Development Authority, CODA, in a July 20 statement denied that the body of the late leader had been tampered with in any way.
“We wish to state that the grave was not opened and therefore no desecration of the body of the former President, H.E John Evans Atta Mills, has taken place,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the completed facility is expected to be handed over to the president for official commissioning on July 26, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Atta Mills’ passing.
The National Democratic Congress has the Atta Mills Memorial Heritage which was founded months back to protect the legacy of the late leader but his aide Koku Anyidoho through his Atta Mills Institute is behind the collaboration with CODA to redevelop the Asomdwee Park.
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