A group that calls itself the Youth of Adoagyiri has refuted the assertion by the state secretary of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, D.M. Ofori Atta, that Adoagyiri has no legitimate chief.

According to the youth, Adoagyiri has a legitimate chief in Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II, whom the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs recognises.

In a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, the group condemned D.M. Ofori Atta for the claims he made and his attack on their legitimate chief.

“The Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs on 2 February 2022, with suit number- JC/ERHC/AP1/2008, gave legitimacy and confirmed Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II as Chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council, so on what basis is the state secretary and Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council saying that Kotoku Adoagyiri has no chief?

“The youth of Kotoku Adoagyiri would like to state it clearly and set the records straight that the statement made by D.M Ofori Atta, state secretary to Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, is untrue and total falsehood with the sole aim of discrediting the reign of Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II to achieve its parochial interest. We, therefore, call on the general public and citizens of Akyem Kotoku State to decline such needless and baseless statements by the state secretary,” parts of the statement read.

The group also gave the historical antecedent of Adoagyiri, which it said falls under Akyem Kotoku.

“Adoagyiri has since historical times been part of Akyem Kotoku and falls directly under the Gyase Division. It holds the title of Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council from the first chief Nana Dompreh Mpesempese to date.

“Available records indicate that all substantive Adoagyiri chiefs have been part of the Akyem Kotoku state, including the records and evidence of Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor II as chief of Adoagyiri and Ankoabehene of Akyem Kotoku State with gazette number “No-59” issued on 18th June 1955 by the National House of Chiefs,” it added.

Read the full statement issued by the group below:

PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE YOUTH OF ADOAGYIRI TO REBUT CLAIMS BY THE AKYEM ABUAKWA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
 
 Adoagyiri has a legitimate Chief for over 15 years - The Youth of Adoagyiri

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for making time off your busy schedules to join us this morning, even though at a very short notice.  
 
We make reference to the press conference by the state secretary of Akyem Abuakwa traditional council, D.M Ofori Atta, held on the 13th March 2023 at Ofori Panin Fie in the Eastern Region of Ghana.  In the said press conference, he referred to the eminent chief of Adoagyiri as the so called Okoanadwo, with name calling and other such unprintable words. In fact, it is most unfortunate for a state secretary to speak in such a manner without decorum. We take a very strong exception to such a behaviour.
 
As a state secretary to a traditional council (Secretary), at least our culture dictates that we should respect the elderly, and by this behaviour, we wonder the kind of model he expects the younger ones to learn from him.
 
We would like to make it clear, that, we are very law-abiding citizens of this country, and that, The Judicial Committee of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs on the 2nd February 2022 with suit number- JC/ERHC/AP1/2008 gave legitimacy and confirmed Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II as Chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council, so on what bases is the state secretary and Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council saying that Kotoku Adoagyiri has no chief?
 
The youth of Kotoku Adoagyiri would like to state it clearly and set the records straight that the statement made by D.M Ofori Atta, State secretary to Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council is untrue and total falsehood with the sole aim of discrediting the reign of Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II to achieve its parochial interest. We, therefore, call on the general public and citizens of Akyem Kotoku State to decline such needles and baseless statement by the state secretary.
 
 
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, permit me to reiterate the following historical facts;
 
1. Adoagyiri has since historical time been part of Akyem Kotoku and falls directly under the Gyase Division, and holds the title as Ankobeahene of Akyem kotoku traditional council from the first chief Nana Dompreh Mpesempese to date. Available records indicate that all substantive Adoagyiri chiefs have been part of the Akyem Kotoku state, including the records and evidence of Okoanadwo Adu korkoor II as chief of Adoagyiri and Ankoabehene of Akyem Kotoku State with gazette number “No-59” issued on 18th June, 1955 by the National House of Chiefs.

2. Nana Adu Korkor II was installed chief at Adoagyiri and sent to Akyem Kotoku to pay allegiance to the then acting President of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council Nana Abrokwa Gyampim I (Kontihene of Akyem Kotoku) in 1953 in the absence of the Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area.

3. Nana Adu Korkoor II and others had some misunderstanding with Nana Frimpong Manso III (Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area) and he and the others stopped attending regular meetings of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council in 1966 even though he occasionally do attend.

4. In the 1994 Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Akyem Kotoku, in the brochure printed to celebrate the festival, Nana Adu Korkor II was captured.
5. When he died in 2007, the family printed clothes to mourn his demise and printed on the cloth were the inscriptions “Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku”.
 
6. There has never been a record or evidence of the title “Barima Adu Korkoor II” in the books of Adoagyiri Stool nor in the records of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council but rather Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor as chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku.

7. What has the Abuakwa state been doing since 8th November, 2007 when Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II sworned the oath of allegiance to Kotokuhene, Oseadeayo Dr. Frimpong Manso IV.
 
8. The reference that Barima Adu Korkoor II sworn oath of allegiances to Akyem Abuakwahene is both criminal and distortion of facts. It is on record, that Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor was the Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku state and Chief of Adoagyiri. We therefore call on the Abuakwa State Secretary to go back and learn his history well.

9. All records in Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council clearly indicate that Kotoku Adoagyiri has three eminent chiefs, namely Ankoabeahene, Adontenhene and Akyeamehene of Akyem Kotoku State.
10. We would like to put on record that Okoanadwo Afutu Dompreh II is the current occupant of the Dompreh Mpesempese stool and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku state.

10. If Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin says he is the over lord of Adoagyiri, where was he when an injunction was placed on the funeral rites of the late Okoanadwo Adu Korkoor II ? Where was he when the matter was later taken to Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council when the family of the late Chief pleaded to the Anima Afra family to release the injunction from the High Court of Koforidua ?

11.It was never true that an injunction was placed on the festival which was celebrated this year, it was rather the Thanksgiving service of the festival which the Municipal Security Committee called an emergency meeting to call off the program for security reasons due to the letter brought by Akyem Abuakwa to install a rival chief in Adoagyiri.

12. By the logic of the State secretary’s own analogy, we would like to know if for instance a group of Togolese or any other tribe settles on a land and decides to select a chief or leader to rule them, does it take a different chief to choose and enstool his preferred man or it is the people who decides who should be their leader?

13. By the same analogy, when people settle on a land, do they have to abandon their cultural practices and follow another culture as in the case of Abuakwa trying to force the people of Kotoku decent to become Abuakwa people by hoke or crook?

14. Furthermore, in Ghana here, are the rules of Abuakwa superior to the 1992 constitution? If so, then what is the CULTURAL RIGHTS AND PRACTICES 26(1) which STATES THAT ‘every person is entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the provisions of the constitution.’ doing on our books? If not, then we would like to alert that our constitutional Rights is being threatened by the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council.

We would like to state emphatically that, Akyem kotoku Traditional Council and Adoagyiri will not allow any installation of any new Chief in Adoagyiri by Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, and any attempt by any chief to hide behind any state institution to commit this injustice will be resisted by the people and the consequences thereof will not be pleasant for all.

At this juncture, we would like to call on the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo, The Inspector General of Police, Ministry of National security, National Investigations Bureau, Eastern Regional Minister, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious affairs, Ministry of interior, Ministry of Defence, National House of Chiefs and the Peace Council to intervene as a matter of urgency to maintain sanity in Kotoku Adoagyiri and its environs since we cherish the relative peace that we are enjoying.

Thank you, and we appreciate the time spent with us, we are most grateful.
Barima Nana Arkoh-Frempong Oware
0244414107/ 0279091415

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