Greed, selfishness and meanness on the part of some influential persons in the Ga State are largely to blame for the chieftaincy riots bedevilling it, Dr Nii Tetteh Kwei, Dzaasetse (principal kingmaker) of the Ga State, has said.
His comment follows the installation of Nii Tackie Obli II as Ga Mantse over the weekend by the kingmakers of Abola Piam We in Accra, bringing to four the number of claimants to the stool since the demise of Ga Mantse Nii Amugi II in 2004.
The Abola Piam kingmakers argue that Nii Obli is not the legitimate chief of the Ga State, thereby retrospectively nullifying the reign of late king Tackie Tawiah II, known in private life as Dr Joe Blankson, and the current Ga Mantse Nii Tackie Adama Latse II.
But speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on Accra100.5FM on Monday, 6 February, Dr Tetteh Kwei said: “These are some of the anomalies going on in the Ga State. This has gone on for a long time and we have always been on a mission that at least the government must step in to ensure that there is sanity in the Ga State when it comes to dynasty succession.
“I want to assure all Ga people, I want to assure all Ghanaians that whosoever calls himself Nii Obli has not been installed or enstooled as Ga Mantse.
“We have got four royal ruling houses under the Ga paramount stool, Dzaase. It is the Dzaase that governs the affairs of chieftaincy in the Ga state, and …[and they are made up of chiefs from] … Teiko Tsuru We, Abola Piam We, Amugi We, and Tackie Commey We. None of these has the power to enstool any king for the Ga State without the consent of the Ga paramount stool, Dzaase.
“Anyone who is enstooled as a chief by any of these houses in line with our customary dynasty succession must be presented to the Ga paramount stool, Dzaase, of which I, Dr Nii Tetteh Kwei II, am the head and the Dzaasetse.
“I am assuring the whole world that this thing which we are being told that took place on Saturday is null and void and I am entreating all decent people, with apology to the Ga State, to ignore him.
“They by themselves cannot enstool a Ga Mantse for us, so what has been done should be ignored. It looks like some people in the Ga state continue to be mean with the integrity of the Ga people every time. What is worrying us in the Ga state is greed and selfishness.”
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