The late Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie fondly called Sir John whose sad demise occurred last year and would be buried on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, was an industrious tradesman.

“Before Sir John became a lawyer, he was a kente weaver in his hometown. He worked hard before he went to University and became a lawyer. I used to commend him as my friend”, Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr revealed

Eulogizing the former Forestry Commission Boss a few days to his burial at Sakara Wonoo near Kumasi in the Kwabre East District of the Ashanti Region, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr urged the Akufo-Addo government to honour the late former NPP General Secretary with roads.

His comments come after some angry youth of the area, Wonoo have promised a showdown should any member of government turn up at the funeral ground if the road network in the area is not fixed immediately

“What we expect from the NPP government is to honour their late General Secretary. It wouldn’t be bad if every road in Sir John’s hometown is tarred to serve as a remembrance to the people of Wonoo”, the veteran journalist spoke on Hello FM monitored by MyNewGh.com.

According to the queen mother, there should be a monument to remember the late former General Secretary of the ruling NPP.

“One of the few legacies to remember our late Sir John will be the fixing of the road, abandoning it will be an insult to him”, she pleaded.

Profile of Sir John

Kojo Afriyie was born in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He attended Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School in Bekwai from where he obtained his GCE Ordinary level certificate. He proceeded to obtain his GCE Advanced level certificate from Konongo Odumase Secondary School in Konongo.  He was admitted to study political science at the University of Ghana.  He then enrolled at the Ghana School of Law where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. After this, he was admitted as a solicitor and counsel for the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Legal career

Afriyie entered into private law practice in 1981. During the John Agyekum Kufour administration, he was appointed head of legal services at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. He was later made to act as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the corporation.

Political career

While managing his firm, Afriyie was also actively engaged in Ghanaian politics. He served as the general secretary of the New Patriotic Party from 2010 to 2014. He lost his bid to secure a second term to Kwabena Agyapong.  In May 2017, while serving as the CEO of the Forestry Commission, he publicly declared that he would contest the New Patriotic Party’s general secretary elections if there was an overwhelming call for him to do so

CEO of Forestry Commission

In March 2017, President Nana Akuffo-Addo appointed Afriyie as CEO of the Forestry Commission. He replaced Samuel Afari Dartey, whose term as the CEO had ended. His appointment was surprising to many Ghanaians because of many rumours that he was linked to the position of head of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.T hat position was given to Paul Asare Ansah. Afriyie later revealed that the rumours were true but he had rejected the appointment due to his fear of the sea. He thanked the president for the Forestry Commission appointment and believed that since he hailed from the forest zone of Ghana, he would be able to have a greater impact in that area.

As CEO of the Forestry Commission, Afriyie’s job was to oversee the various public agencies that form the divisions of the Commission. His first assignment as head of the commission was to supervise the celebration of World Forest Day which fell on 21 March 2017.

Source: mynewsgh.com