Addo-Kufuor Honours Anglican Chief

Former Defence Minister, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor last Saturday honoured the retiring Anglican Archbishop of Ghana and the Province of West Africa, the Most Rev. Archbishop Dr Justice Ofei Akrofi. It was an afternoon of speeches and food in honour of a man who was described as a fantastic man of God who responded to the call at an early age and witnessed a meteoric rise in the ministry. Speaking about the 70-year-old retiring Anglican Chief, Dr. Addo-Kufuor said he is a warm gentleman who performed his role well. He recalled how when he was 11 years he served as a chorister when the retiring Man of God�s father was head of the Anglican Church in Kumasi. The Archbishop, according to him, had experienced a meteoric rise in his ministerial career culminating in his appointment as the Anglican Archbishop of Ghana and the Province of West Africa. The quality of persons who graced the occasion, Dr. Addo-Kufuor pointed out, was an indication of who the retiring Anglican Archbishop was. In underscoring the stuff the Archbishop was made of, he recalled how on one occasion a Muslim traditional birth attendant stepped forward to eulogise the goodness of the Most Rev. Archbishop Dr Justice Ofei Akrofi. �He was bestowed the second highest national award by the state in recognition of his service to the country,� he said. In his remarks Archbishop Ofei Akrofi said he was elated for the occasion and recalled how he was intimidated when he was offered his first major appointment at the Ridge Church and his movement to the Trinity College to take charge of the place thence to Cape Coast and then Accra. �Thank you I am retiring but not retarding,� he said to a thunderous applause. His wife, who he regularly referred to as �Araba my wife�, recalled the early days of their nuptial union and how much she learnt from him, to which she expressed gratitude. She thanked the team in the church which, according to her, supported them to achieve the feats they did in the course of her husband�s ministry. When the retiring Archbishop and his wife took to the green lawn to a tune of highlife, the couple was the cynosure of the mostly retired top civil, military and public personalities as well as politicians. Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood and her husband, former Chiefs of Defence Staff like Generals Seth Obeng and Edwin Sam, former diplomat K.B. Asante, former Council of State Chairman Prof Adzei Bekoe and members like Madam Amma Busia, wife of NPP flagbearer Rebecca Akufo-Addo, wife of NPP Chairman Esther Obetshebi-Lamptey, former ministers of state, former diplomats, and top public servants took their seats on the beautifully manicured lawn to give the event a befitting touch.