Prof. Nabila damns critics over Mahama’s donation

The National House of Chiefs has described as “twisted,” some of the discussions surrounding the President’s donation of 13 pick-ups to the traditional state institution.

Prominent among the critics of the donation done by President John Mahama in the Ashanti regional capital on Wednesday is the Methodist Bishop of Obuasi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Stephen Bosomtwe Ayensu, who tagged it as "naked politics," and a "a total waste of government money…on such cheap things just to get some votes."

However, a statement signed by President of the National House of Chiefs, Wulugu Naba Naa Prof. John S. Nabila said the criticisms are uninformed.

“It is very unfortunate that people, who are discussing this matter, imputing negative intentions into same, do not know that the Houses of Chiefs are creatures of statute and therefore need to be resourced by the Government (State) like any other Government Institution or Agency or Department. The Houses of Chiefs are Agencies under the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs,” the statement said.

It clarified that: “The 1992 Constitution and the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (1959) provide for the creation of the House of Chiefs.” It said: “Article 270 (1) of the Constitution provides that: ‘The institution Chieftaincy, together with its traditional councils as established by customary law and usage, is hereby guaranteed.’ Articles 271 and 274 of the Constitution and Sections 1 and 6 of the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) created the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs, just like other bodies of State.”

The Chiefs said none of the vehicles is meant as a gift for individual chiefs, but rather, they are for the entire Chieftaincy institution as a body under the government.

“What people do not know is that the National House of Chiefs is composed of fifty (50) members and the combined membership of the ten Regional Houses of Chiefs is over 250. It is therefore preposterous to conclude that one pick-up is given to over 300 chiefs. The cars are not for the individual chiefs. They are for the Houses of Chiefs as Government (State) institutions,” the chiefs pointed out, adding that: “It is very unfortunate that people have twisted the position of the law to suit their own limited interest.”