Alagidede made this revelation following the fatal helicopter crash on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, which claimed the lives of Dr. Omane Boamah and seven others.

Speaking on Sporty FM, he described the former minister as a dedicated leader with a deep passion for football and a committed supporter of Asante Kotoko.

“He had that leadership quality you always look for and admire. He was hands-on and never just sat behind a desk like many of his colleagues,” Alagidede said.

“I didn’t know him personally very well, but I learned a lot from his example. He was not your typical African leader,” he added.

Highlighting Dr. Omane Boamah’s humanitarian side, Alagidede revealed, “Many people don’t know this, but he was part of the medical team that helped rescue victims during the May 9 Stadium disaster. That showed his commitment to serving people beyond his ministerial duties.”

The May 9 disaster remains one of Ghana’s darkest sporting tragedies, with 126 football fans losing their lives during a league match between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium in 2001.

The August 6 helicopter crash also claimed the lives of Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, former Central Regional Minister Samuel Sarpong, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, and three military personnel — Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Malin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

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His assurance came during a solemn commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the May 9 Stadium Disaster, which occurred in 2001 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The tragedy claimed the lives of 127 football fans during a league match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.

Addressing a gathering that included football officials, supporters, government representatives, and bereaved families, Mr. Adams stressed that while football evokes strong emotions, it must never descend into violence.

“Football is a game played with a lot of passion, but that in no way should move this passion to the level of violence, no matter the decisions and no matter the outcomes,” he said.

The Minister expressed concern over the resurgence of hooliganism in Ghanaian football, pointing to the recent death of a supporter affectionately known as “Pooley” as a reminder of the need for accountability and justice.

“The loss of Pooley recently shouldn’t have happened… The government of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama and our ministry is determined to collaborate with the Ghana Police to make sure every single person behind this act is punished. We will not shield anybody. It doesn’t matter your status,” he warned.

Mr. Adams also commended the efforts of the May 9 Disaster Fund in supporting affected families.

He revealed that many children of the victims, who received educational support through the fund, have now completed tertiary education.

However, he called for greater transparency regarding the fund’s current status and how it is being utilized.

Echoing the Minister’s remarks, Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku underscored the need to eliminate hooliganism from the sport.

“Hooliganism has no place in our football. If we continue to misbehave, we will continue to lose lives. But that is not the essence of football,” he said. “Football must be enjoyed in a safe environment… enjoyed and go back home in peace.”

Mr. Okraku acknowledged that while the May 9 tragedy cannot be reversed, significant strides have been made in improving infrastructure and safety protocols at major stadiums.

“If you come to the Accra Sports Stadium or the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, you realise that the infrastructure has hugely improved. Security arrangements for games are totally different and much enhanced,” he said, while calling for justice in the recent death of Pooley. “Justice for Pooley is still relevant as we continue this journey of remembering the 127-plus souls that we lost here.”

The ceremony concluded with prayers for the deceased and renewed commitments from all stakeholders to uphold safety and preserve the spirit of football in Ghana—a game meant to unite, inspire, and bring joy, not sorrow.

The Belgian was seen as one of the best players on the planet when Madrid agreed to pay up to €150m to sign him from Chelsea in 2019, shelling out that sum even though the 28-year-old had entered the last 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Expected to play a starring role at the Santiago Bernabeu, Hazard’s time in Madrid could hardly have gone worse. He suffered an ankle injury just three months after joining the club and would continue to battle fitness problems until he was released from his contract last summer, at which point Hazard made the decision to retire at the age of 32.

Speaking to former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel on The Obi One Podcast, Hazard claimed the pandemic robbed him of the chance to fully heal from the initial injury.

“I think I was a bit unlucky with that period with Covid, because if you want to know the real story, I went to Dallas to do the surgery on my ankle then I came back to Madrid and it was Covid,” he began. “I had two to two-and-a-half months of Covid, me at home alone, no physio to do the rehab. I did my rehab alone. If I had to choose one thing to change I should have said to the doctor, ‘Bring a physio, I need a good rehab’. I have to do [it] because I want to play at the highest level.

“And then when the Covid finished, we came back on the pitch, I pushed my body like crazy but my ankle was not the same and then I break everything the season after and then you know the story.

“If you want me to change one thing it’s call the physio, ‘Come home, I know it’s Covid but please come home, I need rehab’. And things could be different at that time.”

Asked whether he felt Madrid could have helped him more, Hazard defended the Spanish side and suggested everyone was a victim of circumstance.

“At that time people were not allowed to on the street or to go to their job, and I didn’t push the physio or the doctor to…’Oh come on, I need someone’,” he continued. “For me, my rehab, I did a few exercises, a few things alone. For me it was enough, I didn’t think that I had to do more.

“At the beginning, I didn’t think I needed to do more. After two months I think, ‘Oh yeah, I should do more’, but at the beginning I was okay, I did my thing, I go outside running a bit, I do some exercise and it was not that bad, but then I came back on the pitch and I felt it.”

He added: “After that period with Covid we came back on the pitch and we had like two months to play until the end of the season. And we were that close to being champions so I was saying to [manager Zinedine] Zidane, ‘I want to push, I want to go’ and then the day we finished champions I said, ‘No, I can’t do any more, I’m finished, my body is suffering a lot so I need to do a proper rehab’, but it was already the end of the season.”

The building, according to residents, is just one of the 50 homes which have buckled due to the prolonged heavy rains in the town.

They said although the rains have destroyed many personal property, the community school and hospital have not been affected.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday news Friday, the North East Correspondent, Eliasu Tanko, said some of the victims are currently at Baptist Methodist Church, whereas, one who had his arm broken is receiving traditional treatment.

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“NADMO [National Disaster Management Organisation] has visited the community and they have taken assessment of the situation. They are also making arrangement to send some relief items to the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, spillage of the Bagre Dam has already caused floods in the North East and Upper East regions, killing 10 people so far.

The situation has, therefore, forced NADMO to shut a major bridge linking Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Commenting on this, Eliasu Tanko said NADMO officials under strict supervision have reopened the bridge for vehicular movement.

The building caved in on Friday, many blame a heavy downpour earlier in the week.

The children, aged four years, two years and three months died instantly when a two-bedroom apartment in which they were sleeping collapsed on them and their parents.

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Their parents, who sustained various degrees of injuries, have been admitted to the Nkawie Government Hospital.

The family of five was asleep on Friday night when one of the two-bedroom apartment built out of mud collapsed on them at about 11 p.m.

All three children died on the spot.

They have been identified only as Joana, Owusu and Amankwaa.

With the support of residents, their injured parents were rushed to the Nkawie Government Hospital.

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News of the demise of the children is yet to be broken to the traumatised father, Collins Asamoah, who sustained injuries to his waist.

Mother of the children, Abenaa Serwaa, is yet to come to terms with the gory incident.

She is surprised that what appeared a very strong building could crumble just like that.

“I am seeing this for the first time that a mud structure will collapse without any warning signs. There were neither cracks nor warning signs to tell us of any impending danger. I still can’t believe it. It beats my imaginations,” she cried out.

Meanwhile, police have ruled out any foul play, describing it as a natural disaster.

Nkawie Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent George Ankomah and his men led  rescue operations.

“When the incident happened, it was reported to police so we quickly rushed the victims to hospital after which we inspected the building,” he explained.

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He said: “We realise that for some time now, the rainwater has been washing a portion of that building. So we can conclude the washing of that portion led to the collapse so, for now, we don’t  suspect any foul play but the matter is still under investigations.”

Several countries have come to the aid of the West African country including Ghana.

The government is sending relief items estimated at one million dollars, the Ministry of Information has said.

Pictures coming from Sierra Leone are quiet heartbreaking.

1. Woman grief over disaster. She is being consoled by a sad looking man.

2. Rescue mission desperately searching for missing bodies.

3. Family members line up in pouring rain to identify loved ones’ remains.

4. Man carrying coffin of a loved is too heartbreaking to look.

5. Over 300 graves dug to bury the dead.

6. People watch as disaster unfold

`7. Children were not spared either

8. Pain and anguish spreads through the nation

9. Buildings damaged

10. Man swimming through the flood. Cars being carried away.

Over 126 soccer fans lost their lives in a stampede which occurred when Hearts of Oak clashed with Asante Kotoko in 2001.

It has been described as Africa’s worst soccer disaster.

Kotoko fans threw plastic seats and bottles onto the pitch after Hearts struck late to beat them 2-1 in a Ghana Premier League game.

Police fired into the crowd which caused panic and resulted in a stampede which saw over 126 passionate soccer fans perish.

The total death toll has surpassed 200, with hundreds also injured.

Heavy rain flooded the town of Mocoa in the country’s south-west, with mud and rocks burying whole neighbourhoods and forcing residents to flee their homes.

More than 1,000 soldiers and police are involved in the relief effort in Putumayo province.

“Until we have the last person identified we are not going to stop,” said President Santos, who flew to the area on Saturday after the landslide struck.

The relief efforts continued throughout the weekend.

He said the current death toll was 207, out of which 170 had been identified, including 44 children.

The army had previously reported 200 people missing, but the president tweeted on Sunday afternoon that there were officially no disappeared persons.

Earlier in the day, video footage from Mocoa showed residents crying over a list of missing children, with their names and aged pinned to a board.

“We have lost a baby, who has gone missing,” one resident told reporters. “A little baby, we can’t find him anywhere.” Another woman told reporters she was desperately seeking her two daughters and one young granddaughter.

“Whether they are dead or alive, I just want to see them,” she said through tears.

The exact death toll is hard to confirm with the rescue operation still under way.

Some local media estimate up to 300 people have been killed, while the Colombian Red Cross has a total hovering above 200.

The Red Cross said it was working to help family members contact each other, and the Colombian Air Force has brought supplies.

President Santos has vowed investment will be made to make Mocoa better than it was before.

His critics said more should have been done to protect the area from such disasters.

The landslide struck in the early hours of Saturday morning, when many people were asleep in bed.

Colombia’s director of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit told the AFP news agency that a third of the region’s expected monthly rain fell during one night.

Although rainfall is abundant in the area, this downpour was unusually heavy and caused rivers to burst their banks.

The overflow then picked up mud and debris, creating a cascade.

Video footage of the aftermath showed currents so strong that abandoned lorries were propelled through the flooded streets.

A senior UN official in Colombia, Martin Santiago, blamed climate change, saying it had caused “tremendous results in terms of intensity, frequency and magnitude of these natural effects” in the region.

Others said deforestation has also played a role. “When the basins are deforested, they break down. It is as if we remove the protection for avoiding landslides,” said Adriana Soto, a Colombian conservationist and former environment minister.

With no running water in Mocoa, one resident told El Tiempo newspaper that they had been collecting rainwater. Power lines are also out across the area.

Photos posted to social media by the air force showed some patients being evacuated by air.

Local resident Mario Usale, 42, told Reuters he was searching for his father-in-law.

“My mother-in-law was also missing, but we found her alive 2km (1.25 miles) away. She has head injuries, but she was conscious,” he said.

Landslides have struck the region several times in recent months.

In November, nine people died in the town of El Tambo, about 140km (90 miles) from Mocoa, during a landslide that followed heavy rain.

Less than a month before that, another landslide killed several people near Medellin, almost 500km (300 miles) to the north.

And in neighbouring Peru, more than 90 people have died since the start of the year because of unusually heavy rainfall, which also caused landslides and flash floods.

SOURCE: bbc