1978 AFCON winning stars Abdul Razak and Kyenkyenhene petition gov't for promised houses

Ex-Ghana stars Abdul Karim Razak and Kwadwo Addae Kyenkyenhene have made a passionate appeal to president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to honour the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations winners with their promised houses.

Late head of state General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong made that promise to each Black Stars if they win the tournament and they did on home soil.

Razak and Kyenkyenhene want His Excellency Nana Addo to treat their appeal as a matter of urgency.

"I have to confess that I was happy that we won the trophy for good for our country, but I have been disappointed ever since because the state failed to honour her promise to the 1978 squad,'' Kyenkyenhene, who is now a pastor, is quoted by the Daily Graphic.

''Anytime the 1978 tournament comes to mind, I feel a sense of nostalgia because before the tournament, no nation had won the continental trophy for good. Ghana had previously won it in 1963 and 1965 but no nation had won it thrice at that time, so the then Head of State [General Kutu Acheampong] organised a dinner for us at his residence and promised to offer each player an estate house if we won the trophy.

''The late Kutu Acheampong said winning the trophy would be an honour for the nation so all the players should go the extra mile to ensure that the trophy remained in Ghana.

"We, therefore, went into the tournament with every commitment, dedication and zeal to die for the trophy and that is exactly what we did.

"If a nation refuses to honour promises to her citizenry, it undermines the forward march of certain programmes."

It will be recalled that former Ghana President John Dramani Mahama released a total of GH¢1.7m (about $571,910) to the be shared among the AFCON winning squads of 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982.

But Razak and Kyenkyenhene are reported to have said in separate interviews that such money ''cannot be equated with the estate houses promised each player during the General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong administration in 1978.''