Akufo-Addo, Otumfuo smoke peace Pipe

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reportedly held a closed door meeting with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Monday to mediate in the friction between the king and some functionaries of his administration.

The president was said to have dashed to Kumasi in connection with allegations that two leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government were surreptitiously scheming to tarnish the image of the monarch.

President Akufo-Addo, former lawyer of the Asantehene, who respects tradition, was said not to be comfortable when Otumfuo disclosed the matter during a traditional sitting at Manhyia.

The first gentleman of the land, according to people close to the government, therefore decided to personally go and plead with the Asantehene to let sleeping dogs lie.

Even though the meeting was not open to the public, sources at the palace claimed the president and the Asantehene held fruitful talks, which lasted for more than one hour.

President Akufo-Addo, they said, also used his visit to personally wish Otumfuo a happy 68th birthday and also congratulated him on being on the Golden Stool of Asanteman for 19 years.

Otumfuo’s Concern

During the celebration of the Awukudae festival at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi last Wednesday, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II openly expressed concern about how some leading figures in the NPP were working against him.

NPP officials, who were at the palace at the time – Acting General Secretary, John Boadu; Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah and the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey – knelt to beg Otumfuo.

Party gurus in the region such as Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Wontumi and Kwabena Nsenkyire, the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman and first Vice Chairman, respectively, also joined to beg the Ashanti king.