President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the family of late President Jerry John Rawlings that the nation will give him a burial befitting of his status as the longest-serving ruler of the country.

The President made this statement when the family of Rawlings visited him at the Jubilee House to officially inform him of Rawlings’ death.

Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to the family to give the state some precedence due to the calibre of person Rawlings was.

He promised that the government will work closely with the family to ensure that Rawlings gets a proper farewell.

“Government will work closely with the family of President Rawlings on the arrangements for a fitting State Funeral for the late President, and will keep the nation informed accordingly.”

Nana Akufo-Addo also said that he was struggling to process the news that Rawlings is no longer alive.

He also opened up on his relationship with Rawlings whom he describes to be a man of great vitality and dynamism.

“I was given this information this morning when I arrived at the office. I find it hard up to now to really assimilate this information. This is a man with great vitality, dynamism and energy,” he said.

“He and I had a tempestuous relationship…I believe that we came to see value in each other by the end. I am extremely disturbed and saddened by his passage,” Akufo-Addo added.

Nana Akufo-Addo in a statement said that he has suspended his campaign activities due to Rawlings’ death.

“In honour of the memory of the former president Rawlings, together the Vice President and I have suspended all our political campaigns for the next seven days,” President Akufo-Addo announced in a statement.

Rawlings died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Thursday, November 12, 2020.