NPP, NDC Bigwigs Mourn Sir John At One-Week Commemoration

Members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have described the death of their former General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John as a big blow to the party.

The NPP members made this known during the one-week commemoration of the passing of Sir John today, July 22, 2020.

It was held in Sir John’s hometown, Sakora Wonoo in the Ashanti Region.

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and other high ranking government officials, as well as members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), attended the ceremony.

Before his passing, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie was the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission.

Speaking to Citi News at the ceremony, former Member of Parliament for Bantama and Board Member of the Forestry Commission, Henry Kwabena Kokofu described the death of Mr. Owusu Afriyie as a shock to the NPP and Ghana as a whole.

“It is a big blow. We cannot discount the contribution of Sir John in Ghana politics; the upbringing of a political party to power. And I can say with all certainty that Akufo-Addo’s presidency much more depended on Sir John and many others. The Forestry Commission has lost a gem. If I were to recount the words of the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Sir John had always been a brother to him and many others. So we as NPP have lost our former General Secretary. Someone who aspires to inspire, we’ve lost him,” he lamented.

The leadership of the National Democratic Congress led by its General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia also graced the occasion to commiserate with the bereaved family.

Speaking on behalf of the NDC delegation, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the party, Kwame Zu described Mr. Owusu Afriyie as a politician who was loved by all, irrespective of their political differences.

He said: “Sir John was a kind man. He was indiscriminate. It didn’t really matter whether you were a member of the NPP or the NDC. And that has been amply demonstrated in the showing of love across the political divide. It is rather regrettable that we are in difficult times. Otherwise, you would have seen the entire entourage of the NDC at the funeral today. Otherwise, you would have even seen everyone who matters in Ghana here today. Be that as it may, the presence of the many great men in this country at this funeral today is a demonstration of the kind-heartedness of Sir John. We’ll forever remember him.”

Sir John passed away at the Intensive Care Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, after testing positive for COVID-19.

---citinewsroom