Give Kutu Acheampong due recognition — Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed regrets over the state’s failure to celebrate General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, a former Head of State, and give him the needed recognition.
According to President Mahama, who is also the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), despite the brevity of his life, the late General Acheampong had engraved himself in the history of the nation’s development, particularly with his “Operation Feed Yourself” project which became one of Ghana’s flagship agricultural projects.
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Former President Mahama said this when a delegation of chiefs and people of Atwima Hwediem in the Ashanti Region — the hometown of the late General Acheampong — called on him in his Cantonments office in Accra.
The delegation was led by Nana Boadu Ababio II.
Delegation
The delegation was there to appeal to the former President to help develop the hometown of the late Head of State by building a museum, ICT centre, and Library, and renovating the only police station in the community in his honour when given the mandate again.
President Mahama recounted some of the achievements of General Acheampong in his short period as the Head of State.
They included ‘Ghana’s change from the imperial to the metric system of measurement, the switch from driving on the left to right-hand drive, ‘Operation Feed Yourself’, the many housing projects known as low-cost houses all over Ghana and many developmental projects.
Former President Mahama promised to support the people of Atwima Hwediem when given the nod and appealed to the people of the Ashanti Region, in general, to rally behind him and the NDC and vote the party to power to change the current face of the country.
Background
General Acheampong came to power in 1972 by overthrowing the Busia government and becoming the Chairman of the National Redemption Council and the Supreme Military Council.
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Present at the meeting were the Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah; the National Organiser, Joseph Yammin; a member of the Council of Elders, Kofi Attoh; the running mate in the 2020 election, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, and a former Chief of Staff in the Mahama administration, Julius Debrah.