Former President John Agyekum Kufour has paid glowing tribute to his late wife, Theresa Aba Kufuor, for standing beside him in their 62 years together.

"When I was elected to office as the second President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, Aba would play a pivotal but quiet role in shaping key social interventions," he recounted.

He said this while reading his tributes at the funeral rites for the former First Lady in Accra.

According to Mr Kufuor, some of the interventions included the kindergarten stage for all the children of Ghana in the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education policy.

He said his late wife played a key role in "the provision of one hot meal a day to primary school children across the nation; the launch of the National Health Insurance Scheme; and the introduction of free maternal care for all.

Mr J. A. Kufuor, took over as president after former President Rawlings had been in power for 19 years.

He served as the president from January 7, 2001, to 7 January 7, 2009, when he handed over to the late former President John Evans Attah Mills.

Mrs Theresa Kufuor, according to her husband, "also worked tirelessly as the founder of the Mother and Child Community Development Foundation to support early childhood development programmes across the country.

"Her Foundation built three schools and gifted them to communities in Nyanyanor in the Central Region, and in Kotobabi and Amansaman in Accra."

He said, "Through her Foundation, she also provided a breast cancer screening unit to a healthcare services provider in Sunyani and she assisted bakers in Nsawam and Adoagyiri with baking equipment.

She established a phone-in counselling centre to support and combat the stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS patients. Remarkably, Aba rendered all her community action-based services without seeking any publicity."

The final funeral rites for the former First Lady will take place at Heroes Park in Kumasi on Saturday, November 18.

Mrs Kufuor passed away at her home in Peduase, surrounded by her family, on October 1, at the age of 87.