The New Juaben Traditional Council has taken the president of the Eastern Regional House of Chief and Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, to task over his unilateral restructuring of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs (ERHC).
In a statement, the New Juaben Traditional Council alleged that the Okyenhene has so far failed to present any tangible reason why the ERHC must be restructured. It noted that the Eastern Regional House of Chief has maintained the same membership of eleven Paramount Chiefs for over half-a-century and has worked well under various Presidents of the House including his predecessor, Osagyefuo Kuntunkununku.
The statement emphasised that the Okyenhene, as President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, is a public officer subject to scrutiny and is expected to operate within provisions of the Chieftancy Act.
The statement said Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has a duty to explain to Ghanaians why at the tail end of his eight-year Presidency of the House and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he should find it necessary to saturate the membership with Divisional Chiefs which heavily tilts in his favour under the pretext of a restructuring adding that this is an unnecessary exercise since no triggers have emerged within the ERHC to merit this step.
Moreover, the steps taken by the Okyenhene offends the salient provisions of the Chieftancy Act which does not discriminate among Paramount Chiefs but rather accords them the same privileges. Yet the Okyenhene side-stepped the Act by allocating sixteen Divisional Chiefs from his Paramount area as new members in the proposed restructured House while allocating only between three and seven members to other paramountcy. This, it noted, is a complete non-starter since nothing calls for it.
Curiously, the New Juaben Traditional Area, which includes the capital of the Eastern Region, Koforidua, was completely ignored with no allocation at all to the Paramountcy. The New Juaben Traditional Council said it expects the Okyehene to provide the rationale for this unpardonable omission adding that the Okyehene broke protocol by failing to bring the crucial matter for discussion by the whole House but rather bypassed it in sending the memorandum to the National House of Chiefs.