The story of how Atta Mills almost got Asiedu Nketiah arrested by Osu Castle police over government vehicles

The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has paid special tribute to the late Ghanaian president, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, describing him as an ideal example of moral excellence.

Asiedu Nketiah explained in an interview that Professor Mills was an inspirational figure in his life, as he learned great moral lessons from him.

Some virtues of the late Ghanaian president that Asiedu Nketiah has inculcated in his life are Professor Mills' truthfulness and honesty.

According to him, Professor Mills was always candid and honest with the people he dealt with and abhorred backbiting and malicious behaviors.

Asiedu Nketiah, who was General Secretary of the NDC at the time Professor Mills was president, detailed an incident where he almost became a victim of Professor Mills’ unalloyed commitment to the country.

“When we took over power in 2008, some of the NPP officials were trying to steal state vehicles and repaint them. We set up a taskforce to track those cars, and they retrieved two of those cars that had been taken to a garage for repainting.

“When they brought back the cars to the party headquarters, we invited Metro TV to cover it before we sent it to the presidency. The Metro TV reporters came and did their work. In the afternoon, I went to the presidency, and immediately he saw me, he was like, 'General, why did you do that?'

“I asked, 'What have I done?' and he said he’s been told that I tried stealing some state vehicles and had been caught, so he had ordered the security men at the castle to come and arrest me. I told him, 'Prof, I haven’t done any such thing, and you know me too well,' but he insisted that the law must work.

“I explained the situation to him, and he was shocked. He immediately picked up his phone and called the head of security at the Castle not to proceed with the directive to arrest me,” he said on Power FM.

Asiedu Nketiah was speaking on the chaos that marred the wreath-laying ceremony to mark 12 years after the demise of Professor Mills.

A melee ensued at the Asomdwee Park on Monday, July 24, when Koku Anyidoho, a presidential staffer during the Mills era, overran his scheduled time, thus delaying the second memorial service by Atta Mills’ relatives and members of the NDC.

EK