President John Dramani Mahama says he is confident that the tutelage he received from the late President J.E.A. Mills while serving as his vice president is enough to enable him lead the country for the remaining months of the government’s term.

President Mahama made the remarks when he led a government delegation to the home town of the late president to commiserate with his family on his demise.

The president also paid a courtesy call on the paramount chief of Cape Coast before heading to the family house of the late president at Otuam also in the Central Region.

President Mills met his untimely death last Tuesday at about 14:15GMT at the 37 Military Hospital after a short illness.

Addressing a large crowd of mourners and family members, President Mahama said the late president gave him the opportunity to exhibit his leadership skills and always offered him a listening ear.

“He reposed absolute trust in me. Any time there was tribulation and I went to him, he calmed me down and he always said ‘John, I trust you, I like the work you are doing, carry on,’" he narrated.

According to President Mahama, “anytime we had problems in government, sometimes I despaired. Sometimes we had very difficult challenges and his disposition always calmed me.”

Meanwhile the Chief of Staff, Henry Martey Newman, who was also part of the delegation, paid a glowing tribute to the late president saying he was an intellectual man of peace with great leadership skills.

He said President Mills was a “great leader, our mentor, our philosopher, our Christian leader, our friend, our brother, father, our grandfather, our teacher, our professor. I could continue for a long, long time.”

Mr Newman stated that even before the president passed away he was thinking about the country and the last letter he signed attests to his dedication to the country.**