Kusanaba (Upper East) - The mortal remains of Mr Ayeebo Asumda, first Regional Commissioner in the First Republic, for the Upper East Region, were on Saturday interred at his hometown, Kusanaba, in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.

Among the hundreds of mourners who attended the final funeral rites were a high-powered government delegation led by Professor Kassim Kasanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry as well as two members of the Council of State, Mr C.K. Tedam and Mr Francis Afoko.

Other members of the delegation included Mrs Anna Nyamekye, Deputy Minister of Environment and Science, Mr Abu-Bakar Siddique Boniface, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries.

The rest were Mr Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister as well as District Chief Executives from the region as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo Central, Mr John Achuliwor.

A National Democratic Congress (NDC) delegation led by Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, Dr Obed Asamoah, NDC Chairman and some NDC MPs from the area attended the funeral. Dr Alhassan Abubakar, National Chairman of the Convention People's Party (CPP) led his party's delegation.

In a tribute, Professor Kasanga said as a teacher, a pioneer in Ghana's politics, and influential opinion leader in the North, the late Asumda's contribution to Northern Ghana would forever be remembered.

He said ironically, after years of hard work, the Northern regions are unable to equal this initiative. He added that such initiatives appeared to have eroded with "mistrust chieftaincy and land disputes as well as violent ethnic conflict."