Parliament pays tribute to the late P V Obeng

Parliament on Friday paid tribute to the late Mr Paul Victor Obeng, who until his death last May was a Senior Advisor to President John Mahama.

Members unanimously praised him for being a consensus builder, humble, intelligent and strategic politician.

The tribute followed a statement by Mr Haruna Iddrisu, MP (NDC-Tamale South) a Muslim, by faith, quoted Isaiah 57:2 from the Holy Bible which read “those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death,” to register the sadness of the family of the late mechanical engineer, politician and sports administrator.

Mr Iddrisu described the late Mr Obeng as a “towering political figure”, and said his death was a loss to the family, the Asanteman Council, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the nation as a whole.

Born on August 19, 1947, the late Mr Obeng died allegedly of asthma on May 17, 2014, in a hospital in Accra.

President Mahama has announced a state burial for him, and the sister of the late Mr Obeng, regarded as one time Prime Minister of Ghana, had indicated the wish of her brother to be buried at Akrokerri.

Akrokerri is in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region.

Tributes from both sides of the House eulogized the late Mr Obeng for being down to earth, affable, and ready to assist, despite differences in political affiliations and opinions.

Mr Iddrisu said the late Mr Obeng schooled at the Kwame Nkurmah University of Science and Technology, and later became the chairman of its council; serving also as the Chairman of the Asante Kotoko Football Club.

“We are comforted by his love and service to the country,” Mr Iddrisu said, adding that, the late Mr Obeng was a religious person and devoted Catholic.

“He was a reservoir of informed opinion,” Mr Iddrisu said.

Mr Isaac Osei (MP- NPP) for Subin said the late Mr Obeng had a great gift of oratory.

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh (MP-NDC) for Wa West said the energy in the late Mr Obeng resonated throughout his life.

“He had energy in him; he was consensual in his relations with people,” Mr Chireh said.

Mr Dan Botwe (MP-NPP) for Okere recalled the days of the late Mr Obeng as a student leader whose dynamism had earned him a reputation at the KNUST, where he (Mr Botwe) was also once a student leader.

Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong (MP- NPP) Assin North said the life of the late Mr Obeng should be used as basis for people who held extreme political views to accommodate opposing views.

Dr Benjamin Bewa Nyog Kunbuor, Outgoing Majority Leader, said one of the lessons from the late Mr Obeng is to be decorous in one’s speech

The House observed a minute’s silence for the late politician.

“May his soul and the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Mr Doe Adjaho, the Speaker prayed.