Regional reps of Council of State elected

At Ho, Nana Ogyeabour Akompi Finam II, Kadjebihene, was elected as the Volta Regional representative, report A. E. Amoah & Tim Dzamboe.

He polled 13 votes out of the 23 votes cast to beat five other contestants. Nana Akompi, 59, known in private life as Lt Col Joseph Akompi, retired from the Ghana Army in 1981 after he had served in various capacities, including Director of Armed Forces Advisory Council on Civil-Military Co-operation and Chief of Staff at the Castle in 1976-78.

He was also a member of the Constitutional Commission and Re-constituted Commission from 1978-1979.

In an address, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy Volta Regional Minister, commended members of the Electoral College for the peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves and charged the member-elect to the Council of State to utilise the privilege of proximity to the Presidency to articulate the problems of the region for appropriate redress.

The Chief of Zosali, Zosali-Na, Tia Sulemana, 69, was at the weekend elected the Northern Regional representative to the Council of State when he polled 12 out of the 26 votes cast during the election in Tamale.

Zosali-Na Sulemana, a retired Assistant Director of Information beat the Tuluwe-Wura, G. S. S. Bakari, who polled 11 votes and the Kumbungu-Na, Alhaji Abu Iddrisu, who polled three votes.

The election, which was devoid of any incident, was supervised by the Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Isaac Asomaning.

He thanked the contestants and the Electoral College for comporting themselves during the voting.

Tuluwe-Wura Bakari and Alhaji Iddrisu congratulated the Zosali-Na Sulemana and pledged to support him all the time.

A 68-year old retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Michael Kwadwo Adusah, was elected as the Brong Ahafo Regional representative to the Council of State.

In all, seven people contested the election, conducted by the Electoral Commission.

The six other contestants were Mr Thomas Ahima, a farmer, and Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi, Omanhene of Kukuom, who had six votes each, while Prof David A. Yeboah, a university lecturer, Rev Kwaku Oduro, Okatakyie Agyemang Kodom, Nkoranzahene, and Mr Ohene Adjei Boafo, a teacher, polled a vote each.

Mr Adusah thanked the people for the confidence reposed in him and gave the assurance that he would let his experience impact positively in his new position.

The Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Capt Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (rtd), urged the citizens of the region to remain steadfast in the face of the challenges confronting the region, and also support Mr Adusah in order to accelerate the development of the region.

The Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffuor, urged the losers not to lose hope but support the winner to ensure the development of the region and the country.

A 72-year-old Bolgatanga-based businessman, Mr Francis A. Afoko
Mr Afoko polled eight votes to beat his closest rival, Mr James Ben Kaba, a Bolgatanga-based legal practitioner, who had two votes.

Messrs Donald Amoah and Lawrence Tabase polled a vote each, while three other contestants had nothing.

The Chiana-Pio, Pe Roland Ayagitam, Paramount Chief of the Chiana Traditional Area, and Mr Robert A. Ajene, a retired educationist, had earlier withdrawn their candidature.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Afoko said matters affecting the development of the region would receive his utmost attention.

The Regional Minister, Mr Mahami Salifu, noted that the smooth and orderly election of Mr Afoko is a clear indication of unity in the region.

In another development, a Takoradi-based legal practitioner, Mr Ebenezer B. Sekyi-Hughes, was elected the Western Regional representative to the Council of State, reports George Folley from Sekondi.

He polled 17 out of the 22 votes to beat four other candidates.

Before the election, five other candidates withdrew and backed Mr Sekyi-Hughes.

In a brief remark, Mr Sekyi-Hughes, thanked members of the Electoral College for the support and confidence reposed in him.

The Western Regional Minister, Mr J. B. Aidoo, noted that in the past, the Council of State was largely seen as sycophantic and expressed the hope that this situation would not occur again.

The Eastern Regional Electoral College, voted for Mr Frederick Guggisberg Ofori-Atta Asante, a 70-year-old Industrial Relations practitioner as the regional representative to the Council of State.

Mr Asante, who is currently the State Secretary of the Okyeman Traditional Council, polled 21 out of the 30 votes cast. In all, 12 persons, including the Okuapehene, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa, contested.

In Kumasi, Mr Ben Asonaba Dapaah, a 51-year-old self-employed, was elected as the Ashanti Regional representative to the Council of State, reports Boniface Ablekpe.

Mr Dapaah polled 23 votes out of the 36 votes cast. Nana Kofi Gyenfi, a hotelier, polled 12 votes. One of the votes was rejected.

The other 12 people, who contested, did not win any vote.

In an address, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, called for co-operation among Chief Executives and urged them to work hard to enhance the policy of positive change introduced by President J. A. Kufour.

The Paramount Chief of the Lawra Traditional Area, Na Abeifaa Karbo II
In the first round of the ballot conducted by the Electoral Commission at Wa last Saturday, Na Karbo tied with immediate past Council of State Member of the region, Naa Puore Puobe Chiir, who is also the Paramount Chief of the Nandom Traditional Area and acting President of the National House of Chiefs. They had five votes each.

However in the run-off, Na Karbo polled six votes as against four by Naa Chiir to get the nod to represent the region.

Na Karbo, 74, who is a lawyer by profession, was a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1969, chairman of the Public Services Commission from 1971-80 and Commissioner of Health from 1977-78.

In his acceptance speech, Na Karbo thanked members of the Electoral college for the trust reposed in him and promised to serve the region to the best of his ability.

Earlier, two of the six contestants, Mr E. C. K. Daplaa, a retired environmentalist and Mr Owlona Suglo, a retired educationalist, had withdrawn their candidature.

Two other contestants, Mr Pascal Baylon Dere, an Agricultural Economist and Col George Luri Bayorbor (rtd), Accountant/Financial consultant, had no votes.