Accra, May 6, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills has declared three days of mourning for the late President Alhaji Umaru Musah Yar Adua of Nigeria, and has consequently directed that flags at all public places in Ghana should fly at half mast for the period.

A statement from the Office of the President on Thursday said the government and people of Ghana have learned with deep sadness and a great sense of loss, the passing away of "His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Yar Adua, president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after a long illness." President Yar Adua, who was elected President of Nigeria in 2007, died yesterday, Wednesday May 5.

The statement said the death of His Excellency President Yar Adua was a great loss not only to his family and the people of Nigeria, but also to the ECOWAS sub-region and Africa at large.

"On behalf of the Government of Ghana and in my own name, I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to the Acting President of Nigeria, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan, and to the bereaved family of the late President Alhaji Umaru Yar Adua.

"We share their grief at this irreparable loss and wish to express our solidarity with them in this moment of national mourning. In that regard, the Government and People of Ghana will observe three days of national mourning from today in solidarity with the brotherly people of Nigeria", the statement said, adding that flags at all public places in Ghana will fly at half mast for the period.

President Yar Adua was an acknowledged man of peace who worked tirelessly to maintain the rule of law and order and restore internal security in the Niger Delta. Under President Yar Adua's leadership, Nigeria and Ghana continued to work together to advance the pace of bilateral cooperation and development and set the agenda for sub-regional integration. Within the ECOWAS sub-region, President Yar Adua was a valued partner in the common struggle to institutionalize the principles and practice of democratic governance and the pursuit of regional integration as a strategic tool in the economic and social development of the sub-region. 06 May 10