The Karni Area Youth and Development Association has accused Member of Parliament for Lambussie Constituency, Edward Dery, of sabotaging a constitutional process of realigning the Area Council back to the Jirapa municipality, their traditional home.
Dozens of residents including the elderly, men, women, children and persons with disabilities clad in red bands took to the streets on Thursday amidst the beating of drums and singing in protest against the “MP’s attempt to truncate the realignment process”.
The protesters burned several lorry tyres and blocked the main street leading into the township, but the police swiftly intervened and removed the tyres, averting any imminent harm or danger.
They carried placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Hon. Edward Dery, don’t tamper realignment’, ‘Realignment is not about MP’, ‘Exodus from Lambussie now’, ‘EC and MLRD implement realignment now’, and ‘Request started long ago’.
The leadership of Karni Area Youth and Development later addressed the protesters at the market square, where the chiefs and elders had converged amidst tight security.
Secretary to the association, Doozuoh Alexis, told the teeming crowd the Karni traditional area accused the MP of “overt and covert manoeuvring with the connivance of few conspirators aimed at truncating and sabotaging the constitutional process” of realigning the area back to the Jirapa municipality”.
“We are shocked and disgusted at the unpalatable developments and moves by the MP,…who is supposed to be representing us in parliament,” he added.
He called on the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to ignore the MP and his cohort who were bent on frustrating the realignment process, and go ahead to implement for the general good and peace of communities.
Mr Alexis also appealed to the president to intervene and ensure the constitutional process initiated was adhered to and fully implemented for sustenance of peace and development of the area.
“We also use this platform to call on all citizens of Karni traditional area, those who have just turned voting age to put their names on the voter’s roll when the EC opens register for limited voter’s registration this year,” he added.
Mr Alexis further asked the people to participate fully in mass registration of Ghanaians by the National Identification Authority.
When the MP, Mr Dery, was contacted, he denied the accusations, saying he had never tampered with the realignment process and was not consulted even when it was initiated.
