President Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with Nii Ayibonte (2nd left), Gbese Mantse at the Jubilee House in Accra. Picture by Samuel Tei Adano
President Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with Nii Ayibonte (2nd left), Gbese Mantse at the Jubilee House in Accra. Picture by Samuel Tei Adano

Set up C’ssion of Enquiry into Ga chieftaincy affairs

The  Ga Traditional Council has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to use his Executive powers under Article 278 to set up a commission of enquiry to look into the protracted dispute over the rightful claimant to the Ga Stool.

A delegation from the council, led by its acting President, Nii Dodoo Nsaki  II, made the appeal when they paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Accra, yesterday.

Since the death of the Ga Mantse, Nii Amugi II, in 2005, the Ga Stool appears to have remained vacant. Occasionally there have been claimants to the stool, but many of such attempts have ended up in the law court or  the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs.

The delegation said the long-standing dispute that had characterised the selection of a successor to the late Ga Mantse Nii Boni Amugi was disturbing and needed an intervention to resolve it.

The council, through its Spokesperson, Nii Otu Blafo II, also appealed to the President to help with the elevation of seven other divisions in the Ga State to the status of paramountcy.

It also asked the President to intervene for the government to hand over the Accra Community Centre land back to the Ga Stool.

Read Also: One land, two lords as another Ga Mantse is installed

Assurance
Responding to the appeal by the council, President Akufo-Addo assured the Ga chiefs of the support of the government in resolving the numerous disputes over the claimant to the Ga Stool.

However, he said, the present set-up in the country allowed the Judicial committees of the various traditional councils to handle such disputes.

“And so, with respect to the Ga Traditional Council, such disputes should be handled by the Judicial Committee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs.
 
“That is the system that we have and l am surprised that till now the Judicial Committee of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs has not been able to settle this matter,” he added.

“The situation whereby we have witnessed this constant struggle for these last 13 years since the death of Nii Boni Amugi for succession to the Ga Stool is very unfortunate,” he noted.

President Akufo-Addo said a request for a commission of inquiry to look into the chieftaincy dispute in the Ga State was good, but expressed the view that such a commission of inquiry would not have the power to declare royalty in a way that the Judicial Committee could.

Paramountcy

On the elevation of some divisions to the status of paramountcy, the President wondered why out of the 12  divisions which were asked to be elevated by the late Nii Boni Amugi, only five were elevated.

He promised to communicate to the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs to address the issue, which had been outstanding since the reign of Nii Boni Amugi.

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