A Group of Elders and Youth of Funsi have Today, 10th May 2026 Gathered at Mulliabe Royal Gate to express displeasure with the Enskinment of Newly Outdoored Funsi Paramount Chief Kuoro Adikibe Dagbasi Sampuo III on the 19th of April 2026.

In a Statement Read by Sabit Jinanwia Baviakang and Endorsed by Iddrisu N-Wmanye Buduo, Head of the Ginganni Royal Family they outlined several reasons why the oppose his Enskinment as Paramount Chief of Funsi Traditional Area and they were stated as follows:

1.Illegitimate source of Nomination
2.Absence of Legitimate Kingmakers

3. His Notification to the House of Chiefs is Fraudulent

Full Statement Read by Sabit Jinanwia Baviakang Today 10th May 2026 at Mulliabe Royal Gate is as Follows:

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ILLEGITIMATE CORONATION OF MR. BASUGLO ADIKIBE DAGBASI AS PARAMOUNT CHIEF OF FUNSI TRADITIONAL AREA

DATE: 10TH MAY, 2026

VENUE: MULLIABE ROYAL GATE

DELIVERED BY: SABIT JINANWIA BAVIAKANG

OPENING FORMALITIES

Members of the media, distinguished elders of the Funsi paramountcy, concerned youth of Funsi and the general public. We welcome you all to this crucial press conference.

It is with a deep sense of responsibility to the traditions of our ancestors and a commitment to the truth that I stand before you today. For centuries, the Funsi Traditional Area has been governed by a clear, sacred, and unbroken chain of customary laws regarding the succession to our paramount stool. These customs are not mere suggestions; they are the soul of our identity, the bedrock of our stability, and the non-negotiable covenant between the living, the dead, and the unborn.

However, it has come to the painful attention of the legitimate kingmakers and the royal house that a grave aberration has occurred. We have been alerted to the purported coronation of one Mr. Basuglo Adikibe Dagbasi, who has allegedly presented himself as the new Paramount Chief of the Funsi Traditional Area. Let me state categorically and without equivocation: This alleged coronation is null and void ab initio. It follows no known customary procedure of our land, and it is a theatrical performance designed to mislead the public and subvert our cherished heritage.

Therefore, on behalf of the legitimate custodians of Funsi tradition, I am here to outline, in explicit detail, why Mr. Basuglo Adikibe Daghasi cannot and shall not be recognized as a Paramount Chief on any ground whatsoever, as far as the traditions and customs of Funsi are concerned.

THE CUSTOMARY FRAMEWORK OF FUNSI SUCCESSION

Before we examine the failures of Mr. Basuglo Dagbasi’s claim, let us first restate the proper customary procedure for ascending to the paramount stool of Funsi. These procedures have been well known and upiteld by generations of our people.

1. Nomination by the Royal Gate: The Funsi paramountcy rotates among specific, predetermined royal gates (houses). Only a male descendant of the stipulated royal gate, whose lineage can be traced without interruption, is eligible. The candidate must be nominated by the family elders of that gate, not by himself or external financiers.
2. Vetting by the Kingmakers: Nomination alone does not confer chieftaincy. The nominated candidate must be presented to the legitimate kingmakers – a body of three clan heads whose identities are fixed by tradition. These kingmakers have a sacred duty to vet the candidate’s character, lineage, and knowledge of Funsi customs.
3. Approval and Gazette Notification: After successful succession and rituals, the paramountcy must formally report to the Regional House of Chiefs, which then issues a certificate of recognition and the government publishes the name in the official

THE PROCEDURAL FAILURES IN THE ALLEGED CORONATION OF MR. BASUGLO ADIKIBE DAGBASI

We have painstakingly investigated the events that some misguided individuals have termed a “coronation.” I can confirm that Mr. Basuglo Adikibe Dagbasi’s ceremony failed every single one of the mandatory steps listed above. Let me enumerate the specific violations.

First Violation: Illegitimate Source of Nomination.

Mr. Dagbasi was not nominated by the elders of the correct royal gate. Our records show that the next rightful turn belongs to the Gbelonosi Gate but precisely, the Awuroh royal family. Mr.

Dagbasi hails from the Sampuo royal family of which he claims lineage, whose turn should be making such claims long after ours. Furthermore, the so-called “elders” who nominated him are unknown to the legitimate kingmakers. We have affidavits from three surviving royals attesting that they never nominated Mr. Dagbasi. He is, in effect, a self-declared chief- an act of rebellion against our traditional order. The supposed elder under whom Mr. Basuglo Adikibe Dagbasi hides to refer to himself as a chief once endorsed Mr. D. K Togdia as the legitimate successor to the throne after the sudden demise of the late Kuoro Nwadei Bayong. After the untimely exit of this noble man, this same suppose elder nominated Mr. Mahama Togdia. Mr. Mahama was ambushed with a neglect in absolutely good health and with his parochial interest and inconsequential desirabilities, Mr. Basuglo was nominated. Are you able to perceive the breach of peace and how his conduct is completely out of place?

Second Violation: Absence of the Legitimate Kingmakers.

On the date of his alleged coronation, none of the three recognized kingmakers of Funsi were present and none of the divisional chiefs in the Funsi traditional area was present. Instead, Mr. Dagbasi convened a gathering of his personal friends, hired drummers from a neighboring district, and unknown individuals who had no customary right to sit on the kingmakers’ mat. In Funsi custom, a stool enstooled by the wrong people is no stool at all – it is firewood. A paramount chief chosen by commoners on a street corner remains a commoner.

Third Violation: His Notification to the House Chiefs is fraudulent.

As of today, no notification has been filed with the Regional House of Chiefs by any recognized authority in Funsi. In fact, the legitimate elders have filed a counter-notification, warning the House of Chiefs and the government to disregard any claim from Mr. Basuglo Dagbasi. A chief who is of no medallion. His gazette is invisible to the law in this regard. Mr. Basuglo Dagbasi is a private citizen, not a chief.

KEY DISTURBING CONCERNS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

1. Some politicians have suddenly started interfering into the chieftaincy matters of Funsi whiles article 270 of the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana is explicit.
2. Some security services were here to guide the process of his coronation. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana, under Article 270, explicitly guarantees the institution of chieftaincy as a protected entity. Clause (1) states: “The institution of chieftaincy, together with its traditional councils as established by customary law and usage, is hereby guaranteed.” Furthermore, Clause (2) prohibits Parliament from making any law that confers on any person or authority the right to interfere with the chieftaincy institution, except in matters of national security or public order as specifically provided.

While we acknowledge the security’s role in national security, chieftaincy succession-including the nomination, selection, and enstoolment of a new chief-is a customary and spiritual matter. It does not fall within the remit of state security unless there is verifiable, imminent, and direct evidence of a breach of public peace that ordinary law enforcement cannot manage. Even then, intervention must be limited to the restoration of order, not the determination of who is the rightful heir.

3. There hasn’t been any precedent that a succession took place before the final funeral rites of a legitimately gazetted chief. It will therefore be a dangerous precedent to our customs and traditions and will gravely distort our chieftaincy transition procedure for generations.

CONSEQUENCES OF RECOGNITION: LEGAL, CUSTOMARY, AND SOCIAL

Members of the press, it is vital that you understand the dangerous precedent that would be set if this fraudulent act is given any semblance of recognition.

On the Legal Ground: Under Section 52 of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759), a person becomes a chief only after valid nomination, election, and installation in accordance with the customary law of the area. This particular Act is expressed in language. Mr. Basuglo Adikibe Dagbasi has satisfied none of these conditions. Any individual or institution that accords him recognition will be acting in direct contravention of the laws of Ghana. We have already instructed our lawyers to file for a declaration of nullity before the Judicial Committee of the Regional House of Chiefs. We will also seek an injunction against him, restraining him from holding himself out as a chief.

On the Customary Ground: In our tradition, a stool that is sat upon by unqualified hands brings a curse, not a blessing. It is believed that drought, conflict, and infertility can follow such an aberration. We, the legitimate elders, will never perform the customary rites of pacification for him. We will never sit with him in any traditional council. There is a clear customary maxim in Funsi: “Lasiri ri a tiga ankidi koro” (One cannot claim to be a chief when he does not follow the procedures of our tradition). Mr. Dagbasi does not know the path. He has jumped the wall instead of walking through the gate. He is an outcast as far as our throne is concerned.

On the Social Ground: The Funsi Traditional Area is already experiencing tension due to this illegality. Two youth factions have clashed, and was locked up in the police custody for hours. By clarifying that this coronation is a nullity, we are actually working to restore peace. We call on the police to prevent Mr. Basuglo Dagbasi from parading himself as the paramount chief of the Funsi traditional area or presiding over any court, as such actions constitute a breach of the public peace under the Criminal Offences Act.

A CALL TO ACTION AND REJECTION OF THE CLAIM

Let us make our position unequivocal:

1. We do not recognize Basuglo Adikibe Dagbasi as the Paramount Chief of Funsi Traditional Area. He is a private citizen.
2. We call on the Regional House of Chiefs to dismiss any petition from his camp in order to reaffirm the rightful processes of our tradition.
3. We call on the general public, especially the youth of Funsi, to stay calm and law-abiding. Do not be provoked by the illegal actions of Mr. Basuglo Dagbasi and his financiers. The stool is not vacant, and the legitimate process has proven that Kuoro Elder Saaka Awuroh Kuri Karinyaamah III is the legitimate successor of the Funsi paramouncy throne.

CONCLUSION AND THANKS

Source: Upper West Media App