Government officials, constituency, regional, national executives and hundreds of sympathisers of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) thronged Senya-Bereku to give their late former National Chairman, Harona Esseku a befitting farewell.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led the government and the party delegation to the final funeral rites of Mr. Esseku at his hometown on Saturday.
Paying a glowing but also an emotional tribute, the governing party described the late Esseku as, “a pre-eminent leader and a man of unquestionable integrity whose selflessness and commitment to the founding principles of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition cemented his name in the annals of the party”.
NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong who read the tribute, also described Mr. Esseku as a consummate statesman, recounting the several instances when he served his country in various capacities.
Among the dignitaries at the funeral were Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff; Mr. Stephen Ayensu Ntim, NPP National Chairman; Lawyer Justin Kodua Frimpong, General Secretary; Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament; Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Minister for Trade and Industry; Mr. Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Defence; Mr. Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior; and Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Advisor to the President.
Other National Executives in attendance included Madam Rita Asobayire, Second National Vice Chairperson of the NPP; Alhaji Masawudu Osman, Third National Vice Chairman; Dr. Charles Dwamena, National Treasurer; Lawyer Henry Nana Boakye, National Organiser; Alhaji Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, Nasara Coordinator; and Mr. William Yamoah, Director for Finance and Administration of the Party.
Mr. John Boadu, the erstwhile General Secretary of the Party, also paid his last respect to the fallen hero.
About Harona Esseku
Mr. Esseku, who died on August 3, 2022, at age 88, was a founding member of the Progress Party in 1969.
He served as Minister for Transport and Communications in the government of Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia.
Mr. Esseku was also a member of the Second Republican Parliament as representative of the people of Awutu-Effutu-Senya Constituency.
He was again, a founding member of the NPP following Ghana’s return to democratic rule in 1992 and later served as National Chairman of the party from 2001 to 2005.
Mr. Esseku’s long years of distinguished service to his country, earned him the Order of the Star of Ghana in 2007, the highest national award conferred by the Government of Ghana in acknowledgement of the unsurpassed contributions of an individual to the country.
