Pressure on Akwamu Chief to refund stolen cash

Pressure is seriously on mounting on Chief of Apaaso within the Akwamu Traditional area in the Eastern Region, Nana Otieku Amoani Asare, to refund some compensation claims he fraudulently secured.

The chief allegedly used fictitious means to claim compensation for one of the fifty-two (52) communities displaced by floods following the construction of the Akosombo Dam by the Volta River Authority (VRA). Nana Asare fraudulently used a non-existent community named, Ahamandi to claim a compensation of GH185,052,052 originally meant for the people of Apaaso.

Government’s White Paper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into payments from public funds arising from judgments, ordered Nana Asare to refund the money he fraudulently claimed.

“Government further accepts, with modification, the commission’s recommendation that Nana Otieko Amoani Asare, Omanhene of Apaaso, who collected GHC185,052.23 of the compensation claim using fictitious “Ahamandi” settlement must refund with interest the total amount collected, government directs the Attorney General to take action on this recommendation,” the government White Paper noted.

Even though the government gave the order in November, 2015, Nana Asare has not made any attempt to pay some of the money. Instead, he is going about bragging that, he will not even pay a pesewa to anybody due to his connections with persons in high places.

His brazen and arrogant posturing has angered residents in the area, who have vowed to reclaim their stolen cash and go ahead to destool him.

Nana Otupanin III, Makrado of Apaaso, Akwamu is leading the charge against Nana Asare . He has vowed to reclaim the stolen cash for the development of his area.

Speaking on Atinka News Monday, he said the compensation claim should have been given to the Otupanin stool but Nana Asare created a phantom community as part of the ‘52 resettlement’ areas to claim the cash from the government.

Nana Otupanin has therefore warned that all attempts will be made to retrieve the ill-gotten cash from the Nana Asare .