President John Dramani Mahama has paid a condolence visit to the family of the late former First Lady, Her Excellency Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, following her sudden passing.
President Mahama described the news of Mrs. Rawlings’ death as a great shock.
“The news came as a shock. Zanetor was the first to call me, and she was with Nana when they broke the news. I asked them to come to my office, and when they did, they explained all that had happened. It was so sudden and unexpected,” President Mahama recounted.
He fondly remembered his last encounter with the late former First Lady, recalling her lively spirit and strength.
“The last time I saw her was after I had taken my son around. She was full of life cheerful and strong. There was nothing to suggest that, in just a few weeks, she would be called to rest in the arms of the Lord. But as Nana rightly said, we shall all be called by God one day; we just never know when.”
President Mahama paid glowing tribute to Mrs. Rawlings’ long and distinguished service to Ghana, noting that she made an indelible mark on the nation’s political and social landscape.
“Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings set a record in our country’s history the longest-serving First Lady of Ghana, serving for 19 solid years. With the constitutional limits we have today, no one will ever break that record; the maximum anyone can serve is eight years,” he said.
He lauded her for championing women’s empowerment and inspiring a generation of Ghanaian women through her work with the 31st December Women’s Movement. “Throughout those 19 years, she made women her priority her passion, her purpose, her promise. She inspired a movement that will forever be remembered as the first great women’s movement in Ghana’s history.”
The President assured the family that the state will honour the memory of the late First Lady appropriately. “The state will accord her the full honors she deserves as a former First Lady and Mother of the Nation,” he said adding that the family may hold a traditional funeral after the state funeral, once the official date is confirmed.
President Mahama expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family. “May her soul rest in perfect peace, and may her legacy continue to live on in the hearts of those she touched.”
