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Founder and leader of the United Front Party (UFP), Akwasi Addai, popularly known as Odike, has accused President Akufo-Addo of masterminding his banishment from the Ashanti Region.
Odike argued that he is convinced that the president motivated the traditional leaders to come after him after he accused the chiefs of being complicit in the illegal mining menace.
His banishment comes after chiefs within the Asante Kingdom described the utterances of the UFP leader on Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM as distasteful and disrespectful.
He was also accused of threatening to incite the youth against the chiefs if they fail to play their roles in curbing the illegal mining menace.
On the back of the tensions between Mr Odike and the traditional authorities, some unknown assailants on Monday, August 22, 2022, ransacked and vandalized his office in an attempt to murder him.
Barely a month after his comments, President Akufo-Addo in his renewed commitment to fight illegal mining met chiefs in the Ashanti Region to seek their assistance to curb the practice.
Commenting on the development on the Anopa Bofo morning show on Angel FM about whether his comments compelled the president to take the step of meeting the chiefs and MMDCEs, he categorically responded “no” because the engagement was a “galamsey shareholders meeting”.
According to Mr Odike, it is far from that because he is convinced Nana Akuffo-Addo masterminded the actions taken by the traditional leaders since the president is also a beneficiary of the galamsey practice.
“No, even for Nana Addo, am sure that he motivated the chiefs to do whatever they did to me. They thought to have come after me so that Ghanaians will express their agitations at me that I have disrespected traditional leaders.
“But because of the Great God, the entire world stood behind me due to the truthful statement I made,” Akwasi Addai Odike stated.
He added “Do you know something, after the incident happened with all the attacks on me, Nana Addo has not even issued a single statement. Till now the government hasn’t issued any statement, Manhyia, has also not issued any statement on the attack.”
To wit, the anti-galamsey crusader expressed disappointment in President Akufo-Addo for not showing any concern over the matter, however, he was not surprised because to him, “Ghana has no president.”
Although he also bemoaned the traditional authority’s failure to allow him to appear before them to clarify his comments, his statement remains factual because they have been unable to prove him wrong.
He added that despite showing remorse for his comment as a sign of respect to the chiefs, he sees nothing wrong with his statement because he never “erred,” however he reminds the public of the strong character he portrays since he is not an easy figure to be intimidated.
“If you lived in this world and your conscience judges you just accept it. For me, till today, I don’t see any wrong I have committed that merits an apology, what have I done? I have not been pointed at this or that as the wrong I committed; I want to know where I erred?
“Yes, indeed they are elderly people, and we respect them but let me tell you this, you cannot take my leniency to be my weakness; I am a very strong person…the indomitable Odike,” Akwasi Addai Odike, affirmed whiles speaking to Kwamina Sam Biney in Twi.
