Okper Chief resolves to work with Yilo Krobo Traditional Council after reinstatement

The Divisional Chief of Okper in the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area of the Eastern Region has resolved to maintain a healthy working relationship with the traditional council after his reinstatement to enhance development in the area.

Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor IX said such unity was essential for the progress of Okper and the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area.

The traditional leader was speaking at a press conference in Somanya following an order for his reinstatement by the Somanya High Court.

The court presided over by His Lordship Justice Frederick Nawurah, annulled his purported destoolment by the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council, resulting in his inability to attend traditional council meetings.

Sometime in 2023, the traditional council, led by the Paramount Chief of Yilo Krobo, Oklepeme Nuer Annorbaa Sasraku II, who is also the President of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council, destooled Nene Agor.

The purported destoolment was grounded on several factors.

In 2023, the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council wrote to Nene Anyeenorgu Teye Agor that, as far as the Paramountcy was concerned, there was no Okper Divisional Chief and in the process, denied him any rights to attend traditional council meetings.

The letter further directed him to contact his deposed Setse (stool father) for any information regarding his deposition.

Seeking answers, Nene Agor's lawyers wrote to the traditional council, stating categorically that any information from his family (the Agor Royal family) purporting that he had been destooled was false.

The traditional council, however, maintained its position, further arguing that there was a serious rift between the chief and his Setse, with the latter withdrawing recognition for Nene Agor as chief.

However, the Divisional Chief argued that he was denied a fair hearing in the process, inferring that the decision was a substantial miscarriage of justice for him.

The chief challenged the action at the Somanya High Court, seeking an order to quash the decision of Konor, who is the President of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council, that the Okper stool was vacant and to restore his status as a chief.

The chief added that he was unsuccessful in his attempts to address the issue through chiefs, opinion leaders, politicians, and the clergy, among others, leaving him with no option but to resort to the courts.

With the legal body quashing the destoolment process, Nene Agor welcomed the court's decision.

"This is a victory for the traditional council; it is a victory for justice and a victory that will go a long way toward guiding the chieftaincy institution as a whole," said Nene Agor.

The Divisional Chief attributed the lack of development in Yilo Krobo to the inability of the traditional council to adjudicate chieftaincy disputes over the past six years due to the absence of a judicial committee of the council.

Welcoming the judgment of the court and its directive to the traditional council to restore him to his former position, Nene Agor underscored his resolve to continue working with the Paramount Chief and the traditional council.

Stressing his determination to address developmental challenges in the Okper area, he said, "We should fight for development. We should focus on what brings development, what unites us; that should be the focus."

He bemoaned the poor state of the road network in the area and called for unity of purpose to address the needs of the people.