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Regional ministers asked to deal with protests over MMDCEs confirmation

 Mr Akwasi Opon-Fosu The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Opon-Fosu, has directed regional ministers in troubled Salaga and Kenyase to ensure that sanity prevails in the two towns.

The directive comes in the wake of recent protests by some irate youth in Salaga in the East Gonja District in the Northern Region and Kenyase in the Asutifi North District in the  Brong Ahafo Region.

The youth were protesting the decision by the President to nominate Mohammed Amin Lukman as District Chief Executive (DCE) for East Gonja, while in Kenyase hundreds of youth protested against the re-nomination of the DCE for the area, Mr Eric Addae, by the President.

Mr Opon-Fosu told the Daily Graphic that the Northern and the Brong Ahafo Regional ministers, who are also the Chairmen of their respective regional security councils, were required to bring the situation under control.

In Salaga, the youth marched through the streets, causing mayhem and threatening to set ablaze National Democratic Congress (NDC) vehicles and the constituency office.

The threats were not carried out due to the timely intervention of some opinion leaders of the area.

The youth maintained that their protest was to send a signal to President John Mahama that his decision to nominate Lukman, ahead of three shortlisted candidates, was not welcomed.

In Kenyase, hundreds of youth embarked on a demonstration to kick against the re-nomination of Mr Addae.

The youth also embarked on the march to retrieve a Mahindra pick-up vehicle given to the Asutifi North Constituency office of the NDC for party work.

The vehicle is alleged to have been hijacked by the DCE for his personal use.

“People have the right to protest, but it should be done within the confines of the law. So far, we have nominated about 50 MMDCEs and I will not be surprised if they are greeted with protests,” Mr Opon-Fosu stated.

According to him, the recent protestations were expected because people had varied interests when it came to the appointment and or re-appointment of MMDCEs.

“What should concern us and what we must deal with is the violent protest,” he stated, adding that regional ministers had been empowered to deal with all those who took the law into their own hands to destroy public property and cause nuisance.

He gave an assurance that the ministry was firmly on the ground and would not allow the situation to degenerate into an unpleasant one.

He discounted claims that there had been massive protests over the re-nomination of appointments and explained that the protests could not be described as massive if, out of the about 50 appointments, there had been demonstrations in just two areas.

Also, claims that there had been a massive rejection of the President’s nominations were not true, he stated, and added that the facts on the ground did not support those claims.

In the Western Region, for instance, there had been seven nominations, all of which had been confirmed, just like in the Greater Accra Region, he said.

In the Central Region, only two nominees were rejected, against nine nominees, he stated.

By Naa Lamiley Bentil/Daily Graphic/Ghana

Writers email: [email protected]

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