The leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), over the weekend, bid farewell to the late Haruna Esseku, a former national chairman of the party, describing him as “a pre-eminent leader who won’t be forgotten” in the party and Ghana.
Speaking during the funeral rite at Senya-Breku in the Central Region, the NPP General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, acknowledged that the late Esseku was, “a consummate statesman, having served as a Member of Parliament for the Awutu Effutu-Senya constituency in the Second Republic, as well as Minister of Transport and Communications in the Busia administration.”
The NPP General Secretary recounted that between 2001 and 2005, the late Esseku served as the National Chairman of the Party, and worked tirelessly to unite and lead the party to win the 2004 general elections.
“Haruna Esseku’s contributions to the Danquah-Busia-Dombo political tradition and Ghana at large cannot be overemphasised. His death is, therefore, a huge loss to both the NPP and the country. We have, indeed, lost a father, mentor and colossus,” he mourned.
The instrumental roles played by Mr Esseku, the NPP Chief Scribe noted, had cemented his name in the annals of the party.
About Haruna Esseku
Mr Esseku, who died on August 3, 2022, at age 88, was a founding member of the Progress Party (PP) in 1969 and served as Minister of Transport and Communications in the government of Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia.
He was also a member of the Second Republican Parliament as representative for the Awutu-Effutu-Senya Constituency. Mr Esseku was again, a founding member of the New Patriotic Party, following Ghana’s return to democratic rule in 1992. He later served as National Chairman of the Party from 2001 to 2005.
Mr. Esseku’s long years of distinguished service to his country earned him the Order of the Star of Ghana in 2007, the highest national award conferred by the Government of Ghana in acknowledgment of the unsurpassed contributions of an individual to the country.