Asafoanye Odzadan III, a cousin of late statesman, ET Mensah, has expressed disappointment over the lack of attention given to the family when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was formally informed of the passing of former the Member of Parliament for the Ningo-Prampram.
Speaking to Umaru Sanda Amadu of Citi FM/Citi TV during the burial service for the late Council of State member at the forecourt of the State House on Friday, Asafoanye Odzadan III said the family informed the NDC of his passing but received no response until the day of the funeral.
She added that it was President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who intervened to ensure ET Mensah was given a state-sponsored funeral.
She insisted that, Mr. Mensah was not celebrated enough by the NDC, the party he served all his life.
“His party [the National Democratic Congress] did not celebrate him but because he is a Council of State member, that is why he is being celebrated today; otherwise, he would not have been celebrated. We went to inform the NDC of the funeral, but we did not hear from them. It was President Akufo-Addo who put his feet down that he was a friend when he was in Parliament, and that is why he is having a state-sponsored funeral.”
“He was a founding member of the party and was there with Nana Konadu and Chairman Jerry [John Rawlings], and the NDC should be the ones taking the lead role in this funeral, but that has not been the case.”
She also criticized the leadership and some executives of the NDC present at the burial grounds, stating that they were absent when the family needed them the most.
“They are here to celebrate with us, but they were not mourning with us because they came to greet us. However, when we needed them the most, they never came.”
Mr. Mensah died in South Africa at the age of 77 in October 2023 after battling ill health for some time. His body was later brought to Ghana in the same month.
Enoch Teye Mensah (born May 17, 1946) was a Minister for Education and a Member of Parliament in Ghana from January 1997 till January 2017.
He held several portfolios in government. Until his demise, he was a member of the Council of State.
His funeral service is being held at the forecourt of the State House in Accra.