Ga Chief Take On Mills

President John Evans Atta Mills�s recent participation in the Hogbetsotso festival hosted by Awomefia Togbe Sri III, when the Anlo chief, like King Tackie Tawiah III, has a pending case in the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, has been described as hypocritical. Citing the hypocrisy on the part of the president was the Gbese Mantse, Nii Okaidja III, during a press conference at the International Press Conference yesterday. He pointed out that �there are matters pending before the Volta Regional House of Chiefs against Togbe Sri III, yet the president could gloss over this when the matter has not been fully determined by the Volta Regional House of Chiefs.� One of the reasons President Mills used as basis for his refusal to cooperate with King Tackie Tawiah III was because, according to him, he had a pending case at the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs. �The behavior of the president should tell Ghanaians that he cannot be trusted and has direct hatred for King Tackie Tawiah. The policy of the NDC government is not to deal with non-gazetted chiefs,� he said, asking, �Has there been any change to this position trumpeted to deny King Tackie Tawiah III of his legitimate rights?� As concerned Gas, he said, they were disappointed in the president and his government for the continual maltreatment of King Tackie Tawiah III. His open support for other chiefs like Togbe Sri who had the same challenges as King Tackie Tawiah III, he said, showed the level of hatred he had for the Ga King. The Gbese Mantse and concerned Gas asked whether Togbe Sri had been registered and gazetted before President Mills honoured the invitation to partake in the festival, as the president had stated that he would not associate with a chief who had not been gazetted. He bemoaned the denial of Gas of their Homowo festival by the Mills/Mahama government for the past three years, adding, �President Mills has no respect for the Gas and our tradition by allowing thugs to operate at our stool house and the Ga Mantse Palace with impunity.� The Gbese Mantse appealed to Ga youth who allowed themselves to be used for negative activities to shun the practice. He warned that politicians who used such youth for pittance would face the wrath of a reformed Ga state where, as he put it, peace shall prevail. He took a swipe at the recent visit by some so-called chiefs in the company of the Mayor of Accra to areas which suffered the recent floods. The chief explained that an invitation had earlier been extended to King Tackie Tawiah but because of the short notice, he and other chiefs refused to honour it. He pointed out that the mayor was joined by the George Adama Tackie group and they were paraded �before the cameras to spite King Tackie Tawiah III�.