General News of Monday, 12 July 1999

Source: GNA

Methodist Church University to take off year ending

The President of the Methodist Conference, the Right Reverend Dr. Samuel Asante-Antwi, received documents on a piece of land offered by the people of Larteh-Akuapem for the proposed Methodist University-Ghana from the omanhene of Akuapem Guan at an impressive ceremony at Larteh.

The two-mile-square land would house the administrative headquarters of the university, which is to start operating as from next academic year temporarily at Wesley Grammar High School in Accra. Presenting the documents at a durbar of the chiefs and people attended by the hierarchy of the Methodist church, Nana Asiedu Okoo Ababio the third noted that since the church was established in the town in 1879, it had contributed immensely towards raising the town's image through the education of its citizens, some of who now hold responsible positions.

He commended the church for selecting the town as the sitting of the main campus of the university, he noted, was in recognition of the services the people of Larteh have rendered to the church over the years. Nana Ababio assured the church that he and his people would place their resources at its disposal to ensure the implementation of the project and to enable the university become a top-class educational institution for both the town and the country.

Rt. Reverend Asante-Antwi thanked the people for offering the land for the establishment of the university which, he noted, fell in line with the government's call for the involvement of communities in the provision of educational facilities for the youth.

The MP for Akropong, Mr Agyare Koi-Larbi, who gave the background to the offer of the land, said the land was previously offered to the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, by the people for public projects, including a presidential lodge and an airfield. He said since this could not materialise before his overthrow in 1966, and the land was lying idle, the people decided to offer it to the Methodist church for its proposed university.