Aliu Mahama served Ghana diligently- Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday described late Former Vice President Aliu Mahama as a diligent and hardworking person who gave off himself to serve the nation.

In a tribute paid to his late deputy at a state funeral service at the Independence Square, Former President Kufuor said the former Vice President was remarkably unassuming.

He described late Aliu Mahama as his friend and brother who was not drawn by ambition to seek his personal glory during the times he acted as President of the Republic when he (Mr Kufuor) had traveled outside the country.

“Aliu my brother and friend, 'Damirifa Due, Da Yie!' ” (or Rest in Peace), Mr Kufuor said.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), eulogized the late Aliu Mahama as corteous, generous and a good man whose calm demeanour drew many to him.

He said the late former Vice President Aliu had an unfinished business which included working towards ending the Dagbon crisis and to win most people in the Zongo communities over to join the NPP.

Nana Addo pledged his commitment towards ensuring that the dream and ambition came true, when he (Nana Addo) was elected as President. He pledged that the NPP would "keep the Aliu flame burning.”

Mr Farouk Mahama, son of the late Aliu Mahama in a tribute described his father as a disciplinarian who insisted on what was right. He added that he and his siblings appreciated the moral upbringing and training his father bequeathed to them. “May Allah have mercy on his soul. May God give him eternal rest”, he said.

The ceremony attracted several dignitaries including former presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor and their spouses. Also in attendance were Vice president Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Nana Akuffo Addo, Presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party, Paa Kwesi Nduom, Presidential Candidate for the Progressive People’s Party and Mahamadu Bawumia, Vice presidential candidate for the NPP and their spouses.

Leaders of various political parties, former and current Ministers of State, Muslim groups, Christian groups, professional bodies and Northern ethnic groups were all in attendance.