A claim made by the Dormaahene, Oseadeyo Agyeman Badu II, that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, lacks the jurisdiction to promote a chief to a paramount chief (Omanhene) in the Bono Region has been challenged by Nana Obiri Boahen, the former deputy general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He asserts that the assertion made by the Dormaahene, the head of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, is incorrect because chieftaincy concerns cross national boundaries.
According to Obiri Boahen, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has the authority to raise any chief who is a member of the Ashanti Traditional Council, regardless of the chief’s territorial authority.
“The Dormaahene said the other day that any chief promoted to the status of a paramount chief outside the region would not be accepted in the Bono Regional House of Chief — that’s what he said but I beg to defy,” the speaker remarked. I disagree with him since the law does not take that stance.
“I’ve practiced law for 33 years, and I can state with authority that all the instances he referenced as examples of paramount chiefs having their claims denied were in Ashanti. According to the law, you can only be made a paramount chief by your overlord and not by jurisdiction. Those who claim differently are lying; the Chieftaincy Act has nothing to do with jurisdiction.
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