The Okwahuman Youth Association has defended comments by the acting Okwahumanhene, Nana Asiedu Agyemang III, saying his remarks were not to endorse President John Mahama's second term ambitions, but an appreciation of the government's continued development of the area.

Nana Asiedu Agyemang III has come under fire since last week, for an address he gave during the president’s visit to the Eastern Region on the second leg of his ‘Accounting to the People’ tour. He allegedly said it was the prayer of the people in the area that Mr Mahama won a second term because of his love for the country and the people of Okwahuman.

A group calling itself Concerned Okwahuman Development Youth Association (CODYA), deemed the chief’s comments as partisan and a tacit support for the president’s re-election efforts and has asked the traditional ruler to come out and apologise.

But the Okwahuman Youth Association on April 18, 2016 said in a counter statement that the chief “did not endorse the President but acknowledged the massive development projects ongoing in the traditional area under the NDC government."

Further, it denied the existence of CODYA, and asked for the public to disregard its pronouncements, saying: “The Patriotic Kwahu Youth or Concerned Okwahu Development Youth Association (CODYA) does not exist and it is not a recognised association. Therefore, any information coming from this unrecognised association should be treated with the contempt it deserves.”