President Akufo-Addo on Monday announced that Ghanaian international footballer, Christian Atsu Twasam, who died in the Turkey earthquake would be given a state-assisted funeral.
Atsu, 31, was found dead on February 18, 2023, following the devasting earthquake in Turkey and Syria on February 6, which killed more than 50,000 people in both countries.
President Akufo-Addo said the government would do everything on its part to give the footballer a “dignified exit.”
“It is my duty and responsibility as President to make sure that happens,” he said when he received a delegation of the family of the late footballer at the Jubilee House, Accra,
The delegation, led by the President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, had called on him to officially inform him of the tragic loss of their kin.
The President who described the late footballer as an “exceptional athlete and a gift to our nation”, noted that the news surrounding his death was a torturous experience for a lot of Ghanaians “because initially we were made to understand he was alright and then came the defining news that he had been called by the Almighty.”
He described Atsu’s death as a tragedy for his family, his community and the country.
“I want to express to you his family and the sporting football fraternity of Ghana, my deep condolences for what has happened…..and I speak not just for myself but the entire 31 million people of our country.
“Our responsibility is to give you as much support as we can. We can never erase the loss of this very brilliant man.
“The Ghanaian people must express their appreciation for the work that he did for our nation and the contribution he made to the development of the game and sports in general,” he said.
The family of the late footballer requested a monument in his honour.