The youth of Gonjaland have called out the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damongo and Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, for allegedly disrespecting and undermining the authority of the king of Gonjaland, the Yagbonwura, Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale I. They have cited seven instances of disrespect and disregard for the authority of the King perpetrated by Samuel Abu Jinapor.

In a detailed statement, the youth recounted how Samuel Abu Jinapor has used his political power and influence to circumvent and undermine the authority of the King, such as countering the orders of the King; influencing officials at the Presidency to deny the King access to have an audience with the President; refusing to pick up or return the calls of the King; and failing to take action on issues the King sought his intervention on, among others.

The youth contended that politicians like Abu Jinapor have displayed disregard for the King to make him look powerless, worthless, and reduce his importance in the eyes of the public.

“Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, all youth gathered here today, it is not a secret that some politicians use the power of government to circumvent the traditional authority and orders of the Yagbonwura in an attempt to evade accountability and to counter the orders given by the Yagbonwura.

"This is mostly done deliberately in order to make the Yagbonwura feel worthless, powerless, and of no value in the eyes of the public. Ladies and gentlemen, if we were to look on and allow such characters to get away with their conduct, it goes to say that all of us gathered here are complicit and are liable to the consequences arising from any such insubordination from these politicians and some of the chiefs. So, if you see us today, our gathering is to send a strong caution to these characters in political clothing to stay off chieftaincy issues and not to get closer to undermining the authority of the Yagbonwura.

"Ladies and gentlemen, at this juncture, we wish to run through some of the specific instances of display of insubordination; some of which were done covertly and others were demonstrated publicly without fear.

"Immediately after the enskinment of Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale I, there were some concerns about the gross misconduct of an officer at the Gonja Traditional Council/Savannah Regional House of Chiefs.

"After a careful review and consideration of these concerns by the counselors and elders at the Jakpa Palace, a recommendation for the transfer of the said officer was forwarded as a petition to the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Cultural Affairs for onward action. Subsequent to this, our incontrovertible sources revealed that an MP from Gonjaland, who also doubles as a Minister, was consulted by the Minister of Chieftaincy about the petition.

"The said MP was said to have rubbished the Yagbonwura’s petition and asked the Minister for Chieftaincy to treat it with contempt. Up until this minute, nothing has been heard from the Ministry and the said officer is still at post and still engages in the worst form of disrespect to the authority of the King in different forms.

"When Wasipe was invaded by security forces of the state last year, some youth were wrongly arrested, beaten, detained, and even tried.

"Daboya came to a standstill and the people were calling on the Yagbonwura to act as the father that he is. Faced with this issue, the Yagbonwura called these same politicians in government to assist him in resolving the issue amicably. In fact, his calls were not even returned.

"Their response was belated when Yagbonwura called Abu Jinapor; he neither answered his phone,” the statement reads in part.

Meanwhile, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who is a Gonja royal himself, had earlier denied undermining the authority of the King or having an interest in the chieftaincy matters of the kingdom.

TWI NEWS

Read the full statement below: