President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday promised to continue to pursue the peaceful legacy of the late President John Evans Atta Mills to create a more united and stable country.

He also called for the collaboration of all political leaders, especially former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor as well as the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo Addo, in pursuing the course of peace and stability.

President Mahama made this pledge when former President Kufuor led a delegation of the NPP to call on him at the Castle, Osu, to commiserate with him on the passing away of the late President Mills and to congratulate him on his assumption of office.

The delegation included the former Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the NPP flag bearer, Nana Akufo Addo, the Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey and a former Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani.

President Mahama had earlier led Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State to the Regimanuel private residence of the late President to commiserate with the former First Lady, Naadu.

He later went to the Banquet Hall of the State House to sign another book of condolence for the late President.

President Mahama thanked the NPP delegation for coming to commiserate with the government on the passing away of the former President.

He also thanked Nana Addo for suspending his campaign to mourn with the government and also going to see the former First Lady.

President Mahama said the gesture should be the first step towards getting the country “to stand together for Ghana to continue to be the beacon of hope in Africa.”

The President described the death of the late President as “a great loss and totally unacceptable” and that he and government officials were in a shock.

Former President Kufuor said the passing away of former President Mills left him and other members of the NPP in such a shock that they were yet to recover from.

He said the delegation was at the Castle first to congratulate President Mahama on his ascension to the high office of the Presidency and second to commiserate with him on the demise of the former President.

He said NPP would be collaborating with the government to give the late President a befitting burial, saying that “that is how it should be”.

The former President said death was so mysterious that it even brought adversaries together, and stressed that the NDC and NPP were not adversaries but rather opponents.

Former President Kufuor said the late President had “played his part to the hills”, and died with honours as a serving President.

He said, President Mahama had served as a Vice-President before assuming the position of the President and therefore expressed the hope that President Mahama “will not forget the demands of the high office of the President to the people of Ghana.”

The former President advised President Mahama to manage the affairs of the country in a non-partisan way to erase the negative aspects of politics and expose the positive side to enable the country to come out of the election with flying colours and continue to be the beacon of democracy in Africa.**