Criticism of Mills was on his performances and not as a person- NPP

• Posted on July 24, 2013
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reiterated that its criticism of the late President John Evans Atta Mills was on his performances as a president of Ghana and not as a person.

Speaking on TV3’s News 360 on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, Fred Oware, Vice Chairman of the party, asserted that the third president of the Fourth Republic was a “fine” gentleman as a person.

“As a person, he was a fine gentleman, but as a president, there is very little one can say for what he did during his term,” Mr Oware told Tv3’s Edward Kwabi.

He said the problem was that NPP’s criticism of him as a president was confused by Ghanaians with his “fine” personality.

“I think people confused those issues and said the man is a president, he is a nice man and you don’t criticize him. He is Asomdweehene. But…you don’t go into office on the basis of that. Otherwise, the best place to look for people will be the church,” Mr Oware stressed.

He disclosed that most of the critics of the late president were “…not against the person, but he was criticized as president and what we expected out of a president”.

“Those were the areas that we criticized him,” he emphasized.

The Minority in Parliament were very critical of the late president, heckling him especially during his appearances in the House to deliver the state-of-the-nation addresses.

Late President Atta Mills’ final appearance in Parliament was capped with the brandishing of red cards by the opposition Members of the Fifth Parliament, and most of them were clad in mourning garbs.

The late president admitted after delivering his address that “I did not expect the heckling to be this gargantuan”.

But Mr Oware stressed: “A man’s record speaks for himself and so if he was being criticized then perhaps his people were taking account of his record in making criticisms”.

Prof. Mills died on July 24, 2013 after being taken ill at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

TV3