The former deputy general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has refuted an assertion by the Dormaahene, Oseadeyo Agyeman Badu II, that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has no authority to elevate a chief to a paramount chief (Omanhene) in the Bono Region.
According to him, the claim by the Dormaahene, the chairperson of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, is wrong because chieftaincy issues transcend geographical borders.
Speaking in an interview on Okay FM, Obiri Boahen said that Otumfuo Osei Tutu II can elevate a chief who is part of the Ashanti Traditional Council no matter the jurisdiction of the chief.
“The other day, I heard the Dormaahene saying that any chief elevated to the status of a paramount chief outside the region would not be accepted in the Bono Regional House of Chief – that was what he said but I beg to defy. I don’t agree with him… that is not the position of the law.
“I have been a lawyer for 33 years and I can say authoritatively that all the cases he cited as paramount chief being rejected are in Ashanti. The position of the law is that it is only your overlord who can make you a paramount chief, it is not by jurisdiction. The Chieftaincy Act is not about jurisdiction, anybody who says otherwise is lying," he said in Twi.
He added that “… whether you like it or not, Japekrom is a member of the Asanteman Council, it is in the Bono Region. Whether you like it or not Berekum, which is 35 miles away from Dormaa, is a member of the Asanteman Council”.
Obiri Boahen also said that the Dormaahene also has the power to elevate chiefs under him to paramount chief but he can not bar the Asantehene from elevating chiefs in the Bono Region, who form part of the Ashanti Kingdom.
Watch the interview below:
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Dormaahene Oseadeyo Agyeman Badu II (right) and Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II