Ministers break silence on Ga Paramount chieftaincy dispute

Plots by some kingpins and traditional office holders in the Ga State to malign the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashitey, and Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, into the protracted Ga Mantse chieftaincy dispute has backfired.

The traditional officers in their quest to stoke another tension and confusion in the Ga Mantse paramountcy recently circulated on various social media platforms that the Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has agreed at a meeting that Boni King Tackie Adama Latse is now the substantive Ga Mantse.

The supposed meeting held at the office of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs (GARHC) at Dodowa on Friday, March 16, 2018 according to the social media, was attended by Mr Dzamesi, Mr Ashitey, Greater Accra regional representative of the Council of State, and the regional police commander among others.

The post asserted that at the end of the said meeting, it was agreed, among other decisions, that Boni King Tackie Adama Latse II was the legitimate Ga Mantse.

However, the Greater regional minister has rubbished the claim, describing it as “shameful, baseless and unfounded.”

Speaking in an interview with Today on Saturday, Mr Ashitey said the REGSEC meeting held at Dodowa did not take any decision regarding the legitimacy or otherwise of Adama Latse.

Asked whether Adama Latse was part of the REGSEC meeting, the minister responded that “l saw him there, but l do not know in which capacity he represented at the meeting.”

The minister advised individuals circulating such stories to desist from linking his name to the Ga Mantse chieftaincy dispute, since their actions were creating unnecessary tension in the Ga State.

For his part, Mr Dzamesi also denied the claim.

According to chieftaincy minister, he does not recognise Adama Latse II as Ga Mantse or President of the Ga Traditional Council.

He pointed out that “in my records as the Minister Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, acting President of the Ga Traditional Council is Nii Doodu Nsakie II and is the Chief I recognise as head of the GTC,” the minister told the chiefs at Dodowa.

Meanwhile, kingmakers and elders of Ga Paramount Royal Stool have affirmed King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II as the traditionally, legally and customarily installed Ga Mantse.

According to them, King TackieTeiko Tsuru II was installed by the Principal Kingmaker, Nii Dr. Tetteh Kwei II, and was inducted into the Ga Traditional Council as the substantive Ga Mantse to succeed the late Ga Mantse, Nii Boni Amugi.

They stressed that the GARHCs, therefore, cannot impose any chief on Ga State and warned the house to desist from the habit of supporting an illegality.