The chief of Aburi who doubles as the acting President of the Akuapim Traditional Council in the Eastern Region, Nana Otuobour Djankwasi II, has denied wide spread media reports to that this year’s Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Okuapeman has been cancelled.
“This is completely misleading reports and misrepresentation of the facts,” Nana Otuobour Djankwasi stated, adding that the Akuapim festival had not been put on hold, and that “we are going to celebrate the festival in quite without carrying various chiefs in the palanquins. So that does not mean that we are not celebrating the festival.”
“Under normal circumstances, on the 3rd August Okuapeman we will celebrate Adae festival then on the 14th September, perform the necessary customary rites for Okuapehene, Queenmother or Okoman to pave way for the Odwira festival. However due to the chieftaincy dispute we can’t celebrate it in flamboyance, but, this does not mean that we have cancelled the festival as it was reported by the media practitioners,” Nana Otuobour Djankwasi II explained.
The Oburi Chief, however stated that the traditional and customary rites would be performed on the quiet.
“We have also asked Royal families and divisional chiefs to perform their own customary rites in their homes to celebrate the festival. There will not be durbar and neither the carrying of any chief in palanquins, because, as customs demand, it is the Okuapehene who is to perform traditional rite to open the Odwira festival for all other divisional chiefs to celebrate accordingly in their traditional areas before a big durbar is held, but because of the pending case against the Okuapehene by the Queen-mother of the Akuapim Traditional Area, Nana Afua Nketiaa Obuo II at the national house of chiefs ,we can’t celebrate the festival in grand style.”
At issue is that the Paramount Queen-mother, Nana Afua Nketiaa Obuo II protested that she would not allow Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III to ascend the throne for which the case is currently being litigated on at the Judicial Committee of the National House of Chiefs.
The Judicial Committee has invited the two feuding factions and they believe strongly that they are going to resolve the issue between the two parties but the committee had adjoined the case.
The development which, he noted, had prevented the Paramount Chief of the area, Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III to have full capacity to perform traditions and customs for the stool since his litigatimacy be challenged.
He pointed out that Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III being the Paramount Chief of Akuapim, it is important that he legally secures his gazette from the National House Chiefs.
“So, when all the matters are resolved and the Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III is accepted, he would now qualify as the legally, traditionally and customarily installed Paramount Chief to represent the Akuapim Traditional Council in the NHCs and other state programmes,” he noted.