An apolitical, non-partisan, and non-religious association for the people of Kusaug has condemned the enskinment of a purported new chief for the people of Bawku in the Upper East Region.
According to the group calling itself the Kusaug Peoples Congress (KPC), it deemed the development as “reckless and lawless.”
The group expressed its dismay after news emerged on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, that the Nayiri and Chief of Nalerigu, Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga II, has allegedly installed a new chief for Bawku despite the existence of one.
The group in a release said not only is the enskinnment unlawful but it has the potential to further deteriorate the already fragile situation in Bawku since the said chief is a Mamprusi and a rival for Bawku.
“We [Kusaug Peoples Congress] have earnt with dismay, the reckless and lawless action of the Nayiri and Chief of Nalerigu, Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga II, who is said to have enskinned a Mamprusi man as a rival Chief for Bawku, the paramount seat of the Kusaug Traditional Area,” the release indicated.
It continued: “We see this action by the Nayiri as an extreme provocation and escalation of the already bloody situation in Bawku and its environs.
“We see it also as complete defiance of clear Government orders from as
high an office as that of the President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces,” the statement contains.”
The group noted, the actions of the Nayiri are indirectly telling the whole nation that he is above all the laws of Ghana and that his office as a tribal chief is not governed by the constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
The KPC said it is hopeful the security services will go about enforcing the clear orders issued by the Minister of Information.
“Indeed, KPC calls on the state to arrest and prosecute the Nayiri and his elders for clear contempt of court, if indeed Government believes in its own public statements, including that of the President, that the Supreme Court has ruled on the Bawku Skin and that Asigri Abugrago Azoka II is indeed the gazetted Bawku Naba.”
It, therefore, admonished the National House of Chiefs and Upper East Regional House of Chiefs to take urgent actions and measures to save the chieftaincy institution from public ridicule.
Having said that, the KPC also called on the National House of Chiefs to further expel the Nayiri, and publicly declare his action null and void.
“KPC wishes to call on all the sons and daughters of the Kusaug Traditional Area, both home and abroad to remain vigilant and ready to defend the sovereignty of the Kusaug State with all the means and avenues provided in the constitution of the land,” it added in the statement. .
Find attached below the full statement
