A group calling itself the Concerned Youth of Atiwa, has held a demonstration to put pressure on President Akufo-Addo, to appoint a District Chief Executive (DCE) from Atiwa East, to represent the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region.
The group, numbering about 200, marched through the principal streets of Anyinam, with placards indicating their unpreparedness to have a DCE from Atiwa West.
[contextly_sidebar id=”l3qlR8dmeM7Zt98qWiP2mf1JOyBsXydX”]According to the spokesperson for the group, Dr. Samuel Ofori, all previous DCE appointees over the last 16 years, hailed from Atiwa West, and so the group believes that the new government must endeavor to appoint one from Atiwa East this time.
“We are aggrieved because the previous governments have not been fair to Atiwa East people simply because it has been 16 years now, the nomination of the DCE have been coming from Atiwa West. It is not as if we have not been contesting, we always contest the position, but the fact is, there are some greedy bastards who for their interest they always want it to go Atiwa West so that they can manipulate people,” he said.
He argued that, the district required an appointee who has a good relationship with the grassroots members of the party, a characteristic he said the Atiwa East candidates possesses.
“Now we are not going to sit down and watch the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to take a person from Atiwa West again. The nominees that we presented, 2 from Atiwa East and 2 from Atiwa West; the competent two are from Atiwa East. We want Nana Akufo-Addo to sit down to analyse things and gather proper information and come out with a name from Atiwa East. We want an active member who can go round and listen to the grassroots members. The government must sit up and take the right decision,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo, who has the constitutional mandate of naming MMDCEs, is expected to announce the final list of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executive appointees on Wednesday.
Ahead of the announcement, some groups in various parts of the country have given strong indications they will resist appointees of a certain caliber who they believe would not serve their interest.
It is feared that the aggression suggested by some of these groups may spark chaos and wide rejection if their preferred candidates are not selected.
Atiwa chiefs recommend DCE candidate to Nana Addo
Meanwhile, a group of traditional rulers of Atiwa under the umbrella, Concerned Chiefs of Atiwa, have thrown their support behind the Presiding Member of the Atiwa District Assembly, Ernest Adade Wiredu, to be appointed as District Chief Executive.
Speaking to Citi News, a representative of the chiefs, Nana Ampem Darko I, urged President Nana Akufo-Addo to consider appointing Mr. Adade Wiredu as the District Chief Executive.
According to the chiefs, Mr. Adade Wiredu’s vast experience in local governance coupled with him being a patriotic member of the NPP is the reason behind their support.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana