President Mills Ends Duty

President John Evans Atta Mills, Ghana�s third President of the Fourth Republic, who died on July, 24 has been laid to eternal rest with full military honours. After lying in state from Wednesday morning to Friday morning at the Banquet Hall of the State House, a state funeral service was conducted at the Independence Square on a day declared as national day of mourning. Being Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, President Mills� casket, draped in the national colours was brought to the funeral ground on a gun-carriage on red carpet, escorted by eight pall bearers of brigadier general rank to the Independence Square, the very venue where he was inaugurated into office as the President of Ghana on January 7, 2009. The solemn three-hour funeral service was attended by government delegations and distinguished personalities, including Mrs Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State, the Chairman of the African Union and President of Benin, Yayi Boni, the Ivorian President and Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Alassane Ouattara, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and President Goodluck Jhonathan of Nigeria. Also present were the Presidents of Guinea, Alpha Conde, President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Blaise Campoare of Burkina Faso, Mrs Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, President Macky Sall of Senegal, the French Minister for Francophonie, Yamina Benguigui, Deputy Prime Minister of Swaziland, Themba Masuku, the secretary to the President of Sudan, Dr Mustapha Osman and members of the Diplomatic Corps. About 50,000 Ghanaians also attended the funeral service, including Members of the Council of State, Ministers of State, Members of the Legislature and Judiciary. Former President Jerry John Rawlings, former President John Agyekum Kufuour, flag bearers and representative of the various political parties, high ranking members of the Ghana Armed Forces, traditional leaders and the clergy were also in attendance. As early as 6.a.m, the Independence Square was half full as people from all walks of life trooped to the venue in their numbers with most of them wearing the special funeral cloth produced in memory of the late president. People who arrived after 8 a.m. found it difficult to get seats as the venue which was filled to capacity. Security personnel detailed to maintain order had difficulty in performing their duties due to the large crowd. A mass choir, made up of the Tema Youth Choir, Dansoman Youth choir, Osu Castle Choir and the National Parliament choir, accompanied by the Armed Forces Band performed a rendition of sorrowful songs. A mounted squadron of Recce Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces and dispatch riders of the Ghana Police Service heralded the arrival of the Presidential casket from the State House with artistic display. A sea of Ghanaians, in mourning clothes thronged the Independence Square to pay their last respects. The beauty of the solemn ceremony was the display of national unity with the majority of the people waving miniature national flags, especially, when the military cortege arrived at the service grounds. The security personnel had a tough time controlling the crowd as every mourner was to sit to observe the proceedings. Soon on arrival, the President, John Dramani Mahama lit the Perpetual Flame after which the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Right Rev. Professor Emmanuel Martey called the service to worship and prayed for peace and prosperity for the nation.