Don’t blame Akufo-Addo; Police should've enforced COVID-19 protocols at Sir John's funeral - Nana Akomea

A member of the communications team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea thinks that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is not to be blamed for the reported flouting of COVID-19 protocols at the funeral of Sir John.

Consequently, he says the calls for President Akufo-Addo to apologise were misplaced, since some people were portraying it as if President Akufo-Addo was personally responsible for the reported flouting of the protocols.

He insists that the security agencies had the responsibility to ensure that the protocols were not flouted.

The security should have controlled the numbers at the funeral and prevented the crowd from massing up.

Regret

"I think it is enough for anybody to express regret... an apology will mean that directly he [Akufo-Addo] was responsible."

Last week, the former Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie who passed on in July 2020 was buried at his hometown, Sakora-Wonoo in the Ashanti Region.

Sakora-Wonoo, a farming community near Bonwire in the Kwabre East District in the Ashanti Region, was rendered too small to receive the great number of mourners who thronged the town to mourn the passing of Sir John who was a former General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

People from all walks of life, particularly NPP members and the political class filed past the remains.

In attendance at the funeral was President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah and many other leaders in the country including Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the main opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

A large number of members of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) faith, lawyers, forestry sector value chain actors, ordinary people went there to either mourn or catch a glimpse of the body, as well as media practitioners who set up for a comprehensive coverage of the funeral.

Schools were closed in anticipation of the large crowds that could disrupt classes.

Public concerns

There has been public concerns about a reported incident of how COVID-19 protocols on social distancing and the wearing of face coverings (face mask) were flouted at the funeral last Thursday [June 3, 2021).

OccupyGhana and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) for instance have called on the police to sanction those who flouted the protocols while the NDC has called on President Akufo-Addo to apologise. 

• Related: 
• Hundreds troop to Sakora-Wonoo for Sir John's burial
• Sir John's funeral: OccupyGhana unhappy with COVID-19 protocol abuse

Contributing to radio discussions on Peace FM's Kookrokoo programme Tuesday morning [video attached below], Nana Akomea admitted it was not good that the protocols were flouted by some people.

It was his view that apart from the organisers, the security was to have ensured that there was control.

Nana Akomea who is also the Managing Director of Intercity STC however insisted that President Akufo-Addo should not be blamed for that.

The issue should be placed on the security, "it comes back to the security."

Why did they allow the crowd to mass up? he questioned.

He said situation should serve as a guide to security as to how to prepare and prevent a similar situation in future.

''It should be a learning curve for all of us . . . There should have been a strict security, so that we could have controlled the crowd," he said.

On the calls for the President to apologize, Nana Akomea said, "to say the President should apologize means he did it... I think it's enough for anybody to express regret, whether the NPP party or the President, whoever but to talk about apology, then it means directly, he is the problem."

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh