Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has paid tribute to former diplomat and New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes, saying the country’s Foreign Service had “lost a gem”.
Mr Ablakwa made the remarks after receiving members of Odoi-Sykes’ family at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, October 15. The family had visited to formally inform the minister and his colleagues of the former diplomat’s death, which occurred a couple of weeks earlier.
In a post on X, Mr Ablakwa described Odoi-Sykes as an exceptional diplomat who served as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada from 2001 to 2006 with distinction and admiration.
He had earlier been Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1972.
“The departed statesman was also a former Minority Leader in the Third Republic and National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party,” Mr Ablakwa said.
“I conveyed my personal and the Ministry’s deepest condolences to the family and assured of the Foreign Ministry’s support in this sad period. Ghana’s Foreign Service has lost a gem. May his soul rest in peace.”
Odoi-Sykes was also remembered by NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who described him as one of the party’s founding fathers.
His death was announced by the NPP in a statement signed by General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong on Wednesday, October 8.
Dr Bawumia said on Facebook that Odoi-Sykes “holds an honoured place in our history, having led the Party to its first general election victory in the Fourth Republic in 2000”.
“His service to Party and country will long be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones,” he added.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said Odoi-Sykes belonged to “that remarkable generation of patriots who understood that democracy must be built with extraordinary courage, defended with unshakable conviction and sustained through selfless sacrifice”.
He said Odoi-Sykes had helped lead the NPP to its historic electoral victory in 2000, contributing to a peaceful transfer of power that strengthened Ghana’s Fourth Republic and affirmed the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people.
Although his time as Minority Leader ended after the military overthrow of Ghana’s Third Republic and Parliament’s abolition in 1981, Mr Afenyo-Markin said Odoi-Sykes’ commitment to parliamentary democracy remained firm.
He added that Odoi-Sykes understood political leadership was not simply about gaining power, but about building institutions capable of outlasting those who led them.
“His life reminds us that the highest measure of public service is not how long we occupy positions of authority, but how faithfully we serve the ideals that give those positions meaning,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
“Today, we mourn a founding father of our political tradition, a devoted servant of the Republic and a man whose place in Ghana’s democratic history is secure.”
On behalf of the Minority Caucus, he extended condolences to Odoi-Sykes’ family, loved ones and the Danquah-Busia-Dombo fraternity, saying his democratic ideals, political tradition and service to Ghana would carry his legacy forward.
