Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has led members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to express condolences to the family of the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who died in Accra aged 76.
Akufo-Addo, accompanied by his wife, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and senior former government officials including Frema Osei Opare, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Ambrose Dery, and Dominic Nitiwul, visited the Rawlings family residence to commiserate with them.
He described Nana Konadu as a “remarkable woman” whose lifelong commitment to women’s empowerment and national development would be remembered for generations.
In a statement issued later on Thursday, Akufo-Addo said he and his wife were “deeply saddened” by her passing, describing her as Ghana’s longest-serving First Lady and a “role model for women in Ghana and across Africa.”
“Her commitment to the growth of the women’s movement in Ghana and Africa can never be forgotten. She was warm, affectionate, and excellent company,” Akufo-Addo said. “Rebecca, my children and I extend our deepest condolences to her children and family. May her soul rest peacefully in the bosom of the Almighty.”
Nana Konadu, wife of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, served as First Lady during both his military and civilian administrations from 1979 to 2001.
She was best known for founding the 31st December Women’s Movement, a nationwide organisation that championed women’s rights and social development, and for establishing the National Democratic Party (NDP). In 2016, she made history as Ghana’s first female presidential candidate.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced by the Rawlings family in the coming days.
Source: asaaseradio.com
