There is heightened anxiety at the Koforidua Peace PROTOA station following reports that hooligans plan to disrupt the upcoming handing-over ceremony to the newly elected interim executives of the driver’s association.

The ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday, July 16, 2024, is a direct result of a Koforidua High Court order issued on June 28, 2024.

The court, presided over by Justice George Krofa, mandated a by-election to elect interim executives for a six-month term, following the court’s ruling that Yaw Adogo’s continued stay in office as chairman of the union since 2018 was unconstitutional, hence by-elections be held.

“The court hereby makes a declaration that having regard to the constitution/Bye-Law of the Progressive Transport Owners’ Association, which document is the constitutive document of the Peace PROTOA, Koforidua, fresh elections have been long overdue since 2018.”

“By an order of this court, all members of the Peace PROTOA, Koforidua, are to hold elections forthwith with the following guidelines per Article 12 of the Constitution, which is headed Election to Elect Executives,” excerpts of the judgment read.

Allegations of misappropriating over GHC 247,102.00 against Yaw Adogo were, however, dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Complying with the court order and pursuant to Article 13(C) of the union’s constitution, members of Peace PROTOA conducted a secret ballot election on June 28, 2024.

Joshua Kofi Sogah was elected Chairman, Samuel Appiah as Vice Chairman, Emmanuel O. Ankamah as Secretary, Hajaratu Issah as Treasurer, and Amidu Abubakar as Chief Driver. These interim executives will serve from June to December 2024.

Yaw Adogo withdrew from the election, which saw participation from 19 out of 32 members.

The election results were presented to the court, and copies were sent to the National Chairman of Peace PROTOA and other stakeholders.

On July 12, the Chairman-elect requested police protection from the Eastern Regional Police Command for the swearing-in and handing-over ceremony.

Emmanuel Ankamah, the Secretary-elect, revealed to the media that intelligence reports indicate that opponents have hired hooligans from Nima in Accra to disrupt the event and attack the new executives.

“We have notified the police, national security, and BNI about this exercise. However, we have picked up intelligence that our opponents have hired hooligans who have planned to launch deadly attacks on us to disrupt the exercise. It has happened before, and many were seriously injured and some even hospitalized. We are peace-loving people; we don’t want it to happen again,” Emmanuel Ankamah said.

He appealed to the Ghana Police Service to intervene and prevent potential violence, emphasizing the new executives’ commitment to peace.