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27.07.2012 Politics

Okudzeto, Rawlings Blame Mills Handlers But Nii Lantey Disagrees

By Daily Graphic
Okudzeto, Rawlings Blame Mills Handlers But Nii Lantey Disagrees
27.07.2012 LISTEN

Renowned lawyer and politician, Mr Sam Okudzeto has blamed government officials for the over politicisation of ex-President Mills’ illness which blinded them to his health limitations and caused his death.

“We have been careless and callous about his health condition,” he stated.

Lawyer Okudzeto blamed the people around the late President for forcing him to stay in office to execute official duties at the castle.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, he said President Mills should have been advised to resign and hand over to President John Mahama to execute the rest of his mandate while he received proper medical attention and rested.

“We should have compelled him to seek proper treatment. Look a person’s life was at stake and we should have done something about it,” he insisted.

Mr Okudzeto, who is also a former President of the Ghana Bar Association, questioned why government officials decided to toy with the life of no mean a person than the president by denying his health problems.

On the impact of Prof Mills’ death on the NDC, lawyer Sam Okudzeto said the huge cost that will be incurred by the party in having to change the party posters and paraphernalia that have been printed already as well as the cost of going for a possible congress to elect a new flag-bearer could all have been avoided.

Asked if the NPP may suffer any backlash from the former president’s death, Lawyer Okudzeto answered in the negative. He added that some senior members of the NPP had rather expressed concern about the issue but government officials failed to heed their caution.

Also speaking on the programme was Lawyer David Annan who also admitted that President Mills’ ailment had been overly politicised. He expressed the hope that the lessons from the ex-President’s death would guide the nation.

He also explained that President John Mahama was now the leader of the NDC, having assumed the highest office as President of the Republic.

Lawyer Annan said in the next few days, the National Executive committee of the NDC would meet to determine the future of the party; whether to go to congress or not.

Meanwhile, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, has lashed out at former President Jerry Rawlings, describing his comments on a BBC interview in relation to President Mill’s death as irresponsible, absurd, unacceptable and uncalled for.

“Quite frankly had he been advised and done something wiser, he could probably have survived another six, seven months I guess”, Mr Rawlings told the BBC.

According to Mr Rawlings, although President Mills had been battling with cancer for quite some time, his death came at the wrong time because “we have elections in December.”

Nii Lante, who was outraged at the comments during a discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana today (Thursday), said the former president could not, under any circumstance, draw such a ‘hasty’ conclusion since he was not in Ghana when the unfortunate incident occurred.

“I felt so ashamed when I heard those comments from President Rawlings. I couldn’t believe it” he said.

If I were Mills’ biological son, Nii Lantey continued, I would have sacked the Rawlingses if ever they come to my father’s house to offer their condolence.

“It is about time the former first couple were told in plain language they are becoming deviants in society”, Nii Lante said.

The Editor in Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Mr Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, who also appeared on the show indicated that owing to the fact that the health of the late president had been used for all manner of purposes, with the issue being bastardised on political platforms, Mr Rawlings should have been circumspect in his approach.

While describing Mr Rawlings’s statements as being in bad taste, Mr Baako said that the former president should not have gone there since it would go to widen the scope of acrimony. “The former President misfired by his exhibition of insensitivity.”

He added that what Mr Rawlings could have done during the interview was to pay tribute to Mills. That’s what a statesman should have done,” Mr Baako said.

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