Bodada (V/R), March 29, GNA - The mortal remains of the late Francis Yao Asare, a Minister of Food and Agriculture in the First Republic took place at Bodada-Buem, his home town, on Saturday. Mr Asare who died at 88, on January 7, this year, was elected as MP for Buem in 1952 on the ticket of the Convention People's Party (CPP) and served as a Volta Regional Commissioner, a Ministerial Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, acted as Minister of Transport and Communication, Chairman of the Food and Nutrition Board and a Secretary to then first Prime Minister of the Gold Coast, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Trained as a pharmacist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, he was part of the United Party delegation to the United Nations in New York in 1948 to help resolve the Trans Volta Togoland issue and presented a paper at the conference which, among others, led to a "Yes" vote in the 1956 plebiscite in favour of the area being part of the Gold Coast. After the overthrow of the First Republic, the late Asare went into fishing and was made the president of the National Inshore Boat Owners Association.

In a tribute, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu Yeboa described the loss of Mr Asare as not only to the family and the Buem traditional area but also to the Volta Region and Ghana because of his dedicated service to the nation and humanity. Mr Owusu Yeboa assured the people that he would do all he could to advance the interest of the region and urged all eligible voters to register in order to be able to elect those they wanted to govern the country.

Among the large crowd of mourners who attended the funeral included the Minister of Private Sector Development, Mr Kwamena Bartels, MPs, chiefs and politicians from both the Volta and other regions.