La Community to honour old leaders

Accra, Nov. 19, GNA - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for La Dadekotopon Constituency, Mr Abednego Torto Laryea has promised to support in the realisation of the proposed La Hall of Fame Project initiated by some citizen of La.

He said illustrious sons and daughters of La, who had contributed to the development of the area and those who had made their mark at the national should be recognised and inducted into the hall of fame to serve as role models for the youth.

Mr Laryea made the promise when he inaugurated the Ashie Nikoi Memorial NPP Ward at the Palm Wine Junction at la to immortalise their grandfather.

He said: "A country that does not honour her heroes is not worth dying for," stressing that prominent personalities from La such as Dr Ebenezer Ako Adjei, one of the big six; Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament, the late Sergeant Adjetey of 28th February Shooting Incident fame; Dr Amon Nikoi, Former Governor of Bank of Ghana and Mr Ashie Nikoi, Pioneer Chief Executive of Cocoa Marketing Board needed to be honoured by naming some streets after them.

Madam Adlaide Adei Nikoi, 81-year-old daughter of Mr Ashie Nikoi, said it was his father through his organisational ability and foresight that brought the peasant farmers together under a common umbrella, which subsequently led to the establishment of the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) to champion and capture the economic heights held by the British merchants at that time.

Madam Nikoi said a research and the autobiography of Oasgyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, First President of Ghana, had acknowledged that it was Mr Ashie Nikoi and other colleagues namely Wallance Johnson, Bankole Akpata, Awooner Remer and Kojo Botsio, all leading political activists of international repute, attended the Manchester Conference of 1945, who suggested the setting up of a secretariat in England to pursue matters relating to the programme of self-governance in West Africa.

She thanked President John Agyekum Kufuor for coming up with the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) to unite Ghanaians and appealed for the exhumation of his father from Ibadan, Nigeria for re-burial. The father died in exile in Nigeria where he was domiciled due to the passage of the Preventive Detention Act.

She also appealed for the granting of 10 Cocoa Marketing Board Scholarship to Mr Ashie Nikoi's grandchildren.

The NPP Constituency Organiser, Mr Benjamin Koney Okpoti swore a 10-member Executive Committee with Mr Joseph Adu Kwabena as Chairman into office.