General News of Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Source: DAYBREAK

Koku Anyidohu hijacks Mills' anniversary

The second anniversary of President late John Evans Atta Mills has been belittled by his former Director of Communications, Mr. Koku Anyidohu, who released a statement outlining the programme for the celebration.

Being a President at the time of his death, Mills’ burial and funeral was a state affair, and his anniversaries are supposed to be so as well. Many will, therefore, expect the programme of the second anniversary to have come from either the Presidency or the State Protocol. However, it rather came from Koku, who said recently that he has been seeing and chatting with President Mills.

Koku’s hijack of the programme does not come as a surprise to many people for obvious reasons, but it is clearly an action that belittles the status of late President John Evans Atta Mills.

The statement from Koku on the anniversary invited only friends and family of the late President.

Below is the statement

The special representative of the United Nations and the African Union for Darfur, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, will address this year’s Atta Mills Memorial Lectures.

The second in the series of memorial lectures will come off on Thursday July 24, 2014 at the Auditorium of the College of Physicians and Surgeons here in Accra.

The first lecture, which was delivered by a governance analyst, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, was held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The memorial lecture will be preceded by a remembrance service at the Asomdwe Park, which will be attended by friends and family members of the late President.

In a statement issued and signed by Koku Anyidoho, a former director of Communications at the Presidency, on behalf of the planning committee, the general public was invited to both events and advised to take note of the attire for the service, which is black & white or the commemorative cloth.

July 24 will mark two years since President Mills died at the 37 Military Hospitals in Accra at 14:15 hours, three days after celebrating his 68th birthday.