The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-rampram, Sam Nartey George, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to apologise to GaDangmes over his claim that the legendary Tetteh Quarshie hails from Mampong in the Eastern Region.

Speaking in an interview on TV3 on Sunday, March 10, 2024, the MP said that Akufo-Addo's statement is an error that cannot be forgiven.

He said the president offended the GaDangmes by claiming that their son, Tetteh Quarshie, who brought cocoa to Ghana, is from the Eastern Region.

The MP gave Akufo-Addo seven days to apologise for his unforgivable blunder.

"I think the president owes the GaDangme people an apology. For the unforgivable statement he made that Tetteh Quarshie, a proud son of GaDangme land, a son whom we birth, is not ours. I mean, that's unforgivable—completely unforgivable.

"The president owes us an apology, and it must happen within the next seven days. Absolutely, because that is an unpardonable mistake to make. He cannot seek to rewrite history and we won't accept that. As a proud GaDangme son, I will not accept that from the president," he said.

The MP called on Ga traditional leaders to demand President Akufo-Addo apologises for his remarks.

"And I expect the chiefs of Ga-Adangbe to rise up and right this wrong. I've seen that some of them have spoken, but we want to see more action. The Ga chiefs must speak. The Ga Mantse must speak. The traditional council must speak. The regional house of chiefs must speak."

What Akufo-Addo said:

In his speech delivered at the 67th Independence Day Anniversary on March 6, 2024, President Akufo-Addo, while highlighting the contribution of the region to the cocoa industry of Ghana, acknowledged the role of Tetteh Quarshie, who introduced cocoa to Ghana from Equatorial Guinea.

He also mentioned that Tetteh Quarshie was from the Eastern Region.

"Indeed, Tetteh Quarshie, an indigene of Mampong Akuapem, here in the Eastern Region, brought back, in the late 19th century, the cocoa pod from Fernando Po, now Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea, an act which led him and others to establish our nation's first commercial cocoa farms here in the Eastern Region," the president said in his speech.

After the president's statement, the GaDangme Council, a group that seeks to represent the interests of the GaDangme people, debunked his claim that Tetteh Quarshie, the pioneer of cocoa farming in Ghana, was from Mampong in the Eastern Region.

In a statement signed by its president, Ayikoi Otoo, the group said that President Akufo-Addo's assertion was inaccurate and misleading and that Tetteh Quarshie was born and raised in Osu, a town in the Greater Accra Region.

The statement also provided a brief background on Tetteh Quarshie and his significance in Ghanaian history, as well as historical records and accounts that confirm his roots in Osu.

BAI/ ADG

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