The Vice Chancellor, Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun and the Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Samuel Amo Tobbin, leading a delegation from Takoradi Takoradi Technical University today joined the family and friends of the late former Council Member, Dr. Ato Panford to bid him farewell at a funeral held at Aboadze in the Shama District.
The late Dr. Ato Panford who served as the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for the Shama constituency from 2017 to 2020, died on 12th February, 2023 at the age of 60.
The TTU delegation to the event was made up of some current and former members of the Governing Council, management members and staff of the University.
In a long and touching tribute to the late Council Member, the University acknowledged his contribution and sacrifices to the University.
“Hon. Panford, today we honour you because gems like you are so rare; this, therefore, makes your loss feel exactly as if asharpened knife has cut through our hearts mercilessly. The emotional pain of your loss is, indeed, excruciating and very unbearable. As an amazing councilor, a colleague, a friend and a brother who had played unique and special roles in our lives, it is fitting that we address you, as we pay you our last respect on this regrettable occasion.
Hon. Ato Panford, we affectionately called you “Honourable”. You joined the then Takoradi Polytechnic Council in November 2014, as a Representative of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI). By divine direction, you were reappointed to serve on the Council of the newly-converted
Takoradi Technical University in 2017 – this time, as a Government of Ghana nominee. You held this position till God called you home.
Honorable, you were one of the longest-serving members of the University’s Governing Council. You served consecutively under three Council Chairpersons. Your contributions and submissions on issues were top-notch, and, due to your immense experience in university governance, almost all the Council Chairpersons you worked with sought your opinion on major and critical issues pertaining to the governance of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU).
Indeed, you were an asset to the University’s Governing Council. You served whole heartedly and diligently on both the Council’s permanent and ad-hoc committees. Your experience in committee systems and higher education governance was eminent to the extent that you were, most of the time, engaged by the various council Chairpersons to deputise in their absence.
Honourable, your commitment to the progress and development of TTU was so unflinching that, even when you were the Member of Parliament for the Shama Constituency as well as the Vice
Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee for Trade, Industry and Tourism, you found time to serve on the TTU Governing Council and were present for almost all meetings. Neither your
role as the Senior Advisor (Enterprise Support Specialist- Technical Audit) at the National (AfCFTA) Coordinating Office affected your commitment to the progress of TTU. Amazing, weren’t you?
It is worthy to note that whenever you travelled outside the country, you always endeavoured to join your col- leagues via zoom to enable you to contribute your quota for the progress of TTU. It is, therefore, not surprising that you played a major role in the drafting and launching of the current 5-year Strategic Plan of TTU – a document that is central to the direction of the University till 2025.
You were almost always on the Finance Committee of the Governing Council and ensured that the right measures were taken to prevent infractions of the financial laws of the state. Your acumen in finance and general knowledge in university governance could not be masked or hidden. With your zeal and efforts, the University grew from strength to strength such that, today, TTU is among the best universities in Ghana.
TTU cannot forget your current assignment as the Chairman of the Reappointment Committee for a Vice-Chancellor for the University – an assignment you began but could not finish because your Maker called you home…We crave your visionary leadership. We crave your great sense of judgement and unifying disposition. Honourable! Honourable!! Honourable!!! Please answer our teary call! You were passionately in the process of securing sponsorship for the proposed ICT block for the university. When are we getting it, Honourable? Honourable, you have left an unfillable gap in our hearts! Our pain is indescribable!!!
Hon. Panford, the former and current councilors led by Samuel Amo Tobin, the Management, the staff and students of TTU salute and bid you farewell, with an assurance that your legacy will survive. Fare thee well, Honorable! Due! Due!! Due!!!”.
Beside the members of academia who graced the event, the funeral of the late Dr. Panford also attracted dignitaries from both sides of the political divide from Regional and National level including including the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, Former Trades and Industry Minister and NPP Flagbearer Aspirant Alan Kyeremanteng.
