Mahama Indicts House of Chiefs; Says House Has Lost Its Voice after Afede’s Tenure
Former President John Dramani Mahama has launched a scathing attack on the leadership of the National House of Chiefs; describing the house as one without a voice.
In what appeared to be pitching the current national house of chiefs’ president, Nana Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II against his predecessor, Togbe Afede XIV, Mr. Mahama said ever since the latter’s tenure ended in November 2020, the voice of the house has muted.
He described the situation as unfortunate and hoped that the National House of Chiefs which constitutes very prominent chiefs across the country and represents the authentic voice of the masses will be bold to speak truth to power.
The NDC Flagbearer in the 2020 elections made the assertion in Ho when he and his national executives paid a courtesy call on Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State last Monday; October 18, 2021.
The interaction was part of the one-day “Thank You” tour of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer after he lost the 2020 elections.
Togbe Afede became the President of the National House of Chiefs in 2016. After his first term, he hoped to get a second term in November 2020 but lost to Nana Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, Paramount Chief of Sefwi Anhwiaso in the Western Region.
Prior to the election, the two chiefs had been on a collision course when Togbe Afede’s administration removed Ogyeahohoo from his position as the Chairman of the Governance and Development Committee of the House. He was removed for disagreeing with what Togbe Afede said was the unanimous position of the National House on some national issues.
That notwithstanding, Mr. Mahama paid glowing tributes to Togbe Afede for being consistently frank, bold, and firm on national issues while he was President of the National House of Chiefs.
He said “We admired your frankness and boldness when you were President of the National House of Chiefs. Since you left the voice of that house on national affairs is muted.
That is the truth. There are a lot of things that are going wrong in this country and the house of chiefs is silent.”
He described traditional leaders as the last hope of the country’s discerning voice, hence wondered why the Chiefs have been silent on the hardships being faced by the populace.
He observed that “Times are hard. You the chiefs are the ones who are the grassroots to the people. You know the hardship that the people are going through. You must be bold and talk.”
The former President also alleged that many pastors have also lost their voice on national issues for fear of intimidation by the government and its assigns.
To this end, if all voices should be lost, it should not be the national House of Chiefs.
He was sure that if Togbe Afede was still the President of the National House of Chiefs the situation would have been different. “At a time like this if the house had a bold leader like you (Togbe Afede); I am sure you would have drawn the government’s attention to what is going on in the country, “he stressed.”
Nana Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II and Togbe Afede XIV
The NDC Party Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and the General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who also spoke at the Palace of Togbe Afede expressed similar sentiments.
They observed that Togbe Afede had expressed similar bold and frank sentiments before the 2016 elections, but they (the NDC government) ignored him and paid dearly for it.
They, therefore, extended an olive branch to Togbe Afede and the people of the region for the unflinching support and votes they gave the party in the recent general elections in December 2020.