The Ganaa and Yelpole Royal Family Members are saddened by the information that their sister’s son in the person of Mr Eric Johnson has initiated subtle schemes with the help of some self-styled Tendaaba and their surrogates to impose Justice Donlabong Dinaa as Paramount Chief of Jirapa Traditional Area.

Four months after the demise and burial of their beloved late Chief, the revered Naa Angsoleh Ganaa II’s final funeral rites have not been performed as tradition demands.

The Royal Family wishes to state unequivocally that it is unfortunate, for Eric Johnson, whose late mother hails from the above Royal Families, to initiate schemes which are sacrilege to the customs and long cherished practices of the Dagaaba tradition for a sister’s son to purport to have a say in who becomes Chief of a vacant stool of the Jirapa Traditional Area.

‘….It is also intriguing to hear that our esteemed Tendaaba, whose remit falls far from deciding who becomes the next paramount chief of the Jirapa Skin, have compromised their neutrality by allegedly signing ineffective documents in the name of choosing a Chief which is inconsistent to how a chief is selected/nominated and enstooled….’ they added.

They added that, Mr Eric Johnson should be advised not to gamble with the peace of the Naa Angsoleh Aanaa/Naa Yelpoe Royal families. We know those who qualify to be enstooled as Paramount Chief of Jirapa and the candidate being speculated is neither identified with the Naa Angsoleh Ganaa Yoyal Family nor the Naa Yelpoe Royal Family.
The Royal family are together in resolve, to resist these schemes by Mr Eric Johnson and his surrogates to endanger the peace of the Jirapa Traditional Area by bringing in someone who is not a member of the two families in terms of qualification for the paramount stool of Jirapa and whose hands tainted with corruption, mismanagements and inappropriate conduct they indicated.

‘…We recognize the care taker role of the father of Justice Donlabong Dinaah as Acting Regent, a role being repeated by Justice Donlabong Dinaah but we jointly resolved; that Justice Donlabong Dinaah is not qualified to sit on the stool in the name of the Naa Angsoleh Ganaa Royal Family nor the Naa Yelpoe Royal Family….’

On the part of the Tendaaba, we are of the collective view that “…THEY DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CHOOSE A CHIEF ON THEIR OWN UNLESS A CANDIDATE IS CHOSEN AND PRESENED TO THEM BY THE ROYAL FAMILIES TO THEM FOR INSTALLATION….”
Therefore, the subterranean and underground signing of documents of consent or endorsement is an illegality and must stop before the schemers turn the paramountcy into a blood bath.

They indicated that, nowhere in the Chieftaincy Act, Act 759, 2008 has it become the responsibility of any group of Tendaaba to choose a candidate for the Royal Families and the reverse is true as per the practices and customs in Jirapa Traditional Area and we do believe that those who are scheming this customary violation and conspiracy have been compromised by Mr Eric Johnson.

We the Royal family heard names like Kumasi Nuobe, Sulkaara, Zinbene, Alsaasan among others, but we refused to believe that such individuals with their long ardent adherence to our customs, practices, conventions and culturally held beliefs could veer and delude into acts that cast the JIRAPA PARAMOUNTCY into opprobrium.

They therefore call on all families to rise against the naked conduct by Eric Johnson which is likely to breach the stool and by extension the PARAMOUNTCY the peace that it is currently enjoying. We also wish to state that, the Jirapa Chieftaincy stool is not for sale and to be offered to the highest bidder.
If anyone is so desirous to have a substantive chief in JIRAPA now then such a person should contact both the NAA ANGSOLEH GANAA ROYAL family and the NAA YELPOE ROYAL family to submit their candidates for the right thing to be done.

Source: Francis Edward Dongyiri