Paying a tribute to Rawlings Wednesday, January 27 at the Independence Square in Accra, Akufo-Addo acknowledged he and the late former president were once not the best of friends, something he said was public knowledge.
“It was no secret that the relationship that existed between the two of us, right from the heady days of 1979, through to my brief period in exile, his assumption of office as the 1st President of the 4th Republic, the historic Kume Preko demonstrations, my period as Attorney General and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Kufuor administration, to my being elected 2008 NPP presidential candidate, was one of open animosity. We did not see eye to eye!!”
According to Akufo-Addo, all that changed along the line when they resolved to patch their differences and to work for common good.
“However, with time, things changed. We came to see value in each other, and understood, to a very large degree, our respective perspectives. One thing we had in common was our mutual commitment to public service.”
He explained that his visit to the late former president in his residence in 2012 was the beginning of fostering a good working relationship.
“My visit to his Ridge residence in 2012 signified the easing of tensions between us, leading to a friendship that lasted for the better part of some eight (8) years. Indeed, when the Ghanaian people, in 2016, reposed, for the first time, their confidence in me in the elections of that year, one of the first persons on whom I paid a courtesy call was His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings.”
Akufo-Addo disclosed their relationship since then has been friendly, one which afforded him the opportunity to tap into the experiences of the ex-president when the need arose.
“From my entry into office, right up to the day he was called by his Maker, he remained a good friend and a repository of sound advice. I knew that, in moments of difficulty in my presidency, I could count on his considerable wealth of experience and knowledge. On those occasions, he came through for me”, he said.
By P.D Wedam|3news.com|Ghana
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