The Northern Regional Minister, Ali Adolf John, has vowed to arrest any chief or traditional leader who stands in the way of the impending rerun of the Kpandai parliamentary elections scheduled for December 30.
Some Chiefs in the Kpandai district last week organised a news conference to call on President John Dramani Mahama to intervene in the order of the Tamale High Court for a fresh parliamentary election in the constituency.
The Chief of Blajai, Nana Nkpajator Nkpawiase II, on behalf of his colleagues, rejected the court ruling, stating that the development could undermine the prevailing peace and harmony among the people in the area and therefore urged the President to intervene.
Consequently, the Regional Minister, who appeared outraged in a video which has since gone viral on social media described the actions of the Chiefs as ‘extreme ignorance.’
He also questioned the authority of the traditional leaders to halt an election, asserting that such decisions are not for groups of chiefs to make.
Mr. John, who was addressing some Chiefs in the video, said the Kpandai constituency was not going to be the first place where a parliamentary rerun would be conducted despite the attempt to stop it.
”Nana, some few days ago we also saw on social media some chiefs from where, I do not know, who came together and had a press release saying that they need peace in the area and for that matter they are not going to allow any election.
“If they know the constitution very well and if they know what they were doing and whether if Kpandai was going to be the first place to have a by-election, a group of chiefs can come together and stop a by election.
“..that was extreme ignorance, and I’m saying this, and I’m putting it on record that if they don’t stop their activities we will pick them one by one. I will ensure that they don’t even see the election,” Mr John stated.
He emphasised that there are laws governing the country and that the government will not allow anybody to tamper with the peace of the area.
According to the Regional Minister, courts are available for people to seek redress when they disagree on matters.
“When the NDC knew that we had a genuine problem, we didn’t go to attack the MP (Matthew Nyindam), we decided to send the matter to court,” he argued.
