Wenchi: Some leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have called on the party and the government to build a monument for the late Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Ghana's Prime Minister in the Second Republic. Describing him as a gem who contributed exceptionally to restoring the nation to civilian rule, they said the late Dr Busia ought to be honoured with a lasting legacy, especially at Wenchi, his hometown.

According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Kwasi Annan Frimpong, a founding member of the NPP in the then Brong-Ahafo, stated in an interview that though the NPP in general had not neglected the Busia lineage, the late prime minister deserved to be honoured. They spoke to mark the 47th anniversary of the death of the late Dr Abrefa Busia, a native of Wenchi in the Bono Region, a political leader and academician.

The late Dr Busia was a Prime Minister from 1969 to 1972 and he was overthrown in a military coup in 1972 after helping Ghana restore civilian government following a military rule. Mr Annan mentioned that the NPP and the country by extension had not neglected the family of the late Dr Busia, recollecting that 'Obeng Busia his nephew held appointment at the National Sports Authority during the former President John Agyekum Kufuor's government'. 'The late Ama Busia, his direct sister, was also a member of the National Council of Elders of the NPP before she died. She was also the matron at the University of Ghana when Dr Busia was the Vice Chancellor', Mr Annan recounted.

Nonetheless, Mr Annan said as the first indigene of the Bono to climb higher in the nation's politics and his contributions to press freedom and local government development 'the nation must honour Dr Busia with a more lasting and bequeathing legacy'. Mr Richard Kwadwo Adu, another leading member of the NPP in the Wenchi constituency, said: 'In fact, the late Dr Busia deserves a monument', and called on the government to rehabilitate the Busia Mausoleum at Wenchi.

He emphasized that though the Mausoleum contained the mortal remains of the late prime minister, its current condition was not the best, saying putting it into a befitting status would also serve as a tourist destination. Mr Adu, a former Wenchi Constituency Youth Organiser, aspiring for the Wenchi Chairmanship slot of the NPP said: 'The development of Wenchi isn't the best looking at our political history and the contribution of the late Dr Busia towards our national development'.