Prez Mahama �Regrets� Failure To Acknowledge Akufo-Addo At Odwira

President John Mahama on Friday, personally expressed regret at the failure by an MC to acknowledge the presence of two-time presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the grounds of the Odwira festival celebration in Akropong-Akuapem in the Eastern region. Mahama himself rectified the error by duly recognising the presence of the former Attorney General when it was time for him [The President] to address the Odwira durbar of chiefs and people of the area. The festival coincided with the 40th anniversary celebration of the paramount Chief of Akropong-Akuapem, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III. In remedying the protocol oversight, the President made reference to the Ghanaian maxim, �Sankofa�, which could be loosely translated to mean: �A retroactive rectification of a mistake isn�t forbidden�, to admonish organisers of such programmes to take the pains to identify and duly acknowledge deserving dignitaries who grace such public functions. �If we spent just a few minutes before the start of a function, we can identify all the people who deserve acknowledgement so that we don�t always have to sankofa sankofa, and so let me add my regret to the MC of the occasion for missing the acknowledgement of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo�, Mahama said. He added: �I�m sure when he [MC] was acknowledging the dignitaries here, I believe that people who deserve to be acknowledged must be acknowledged�. According to him, although event organisers could always ride on the crest of wave of �sankofa� to correct such errors, �I guess we use it too much as an excuse for inefficiency�. Other prominent people at the festival were former President Jerry Rawlings and his wife.