The President of the Gonjaland Youth Association Lawyer Amin Mohammed has said the Association is surprise that, the Jakpa Palace is currently under renovation by persons the Association do not know and that they are shocked at the news that, there is a committee in place to renovate and construct a new Jakpa Palace without the knowledge of the the leadership of the Association.
In a statement to Central Committee Members of the Gonjaland Youth Association Lawyer Amin Mohammed stated; “The Gonjaland Youth Association is the sole body with a mandate by the people of Gonjaland to handle these matters for and on behalf of the King, the chiefs and the kingdom as a whole. We are therefore shocked at the news that, there is a committee in place to renovate and construct a new Jakpa Palace without the knowledge of the the leadership of the Association.
He also said; “We have always availed ourselves at the palace of the Yagbonwura and we have not been informed by our chiefs about the formation of a committee and the renovations ongoing.
He further wrote; “It is important to state that, the leadership of Gonjaland Youth Association has always engaged the Yagbonwura and the Paramount Chiefs in the kingdom on matters relating to the collective responsibility of us all so we wish to state that, we are unaware of a Palace Renovation Committee and we were also not consulted or informed about the renovation of the Palace by the Yagbonwura or the Paramount Chiefs”.
The Gonjaland Youth Association President said; “We wish to state that, the current palace was constructed by the Gonjaland Youth Association with the support of the District Assemblies under the leadership of Alhaji Ahmed Ewura as President of Gonjaland Youth Association”
He stated; “The fence wall (of the Jakpa Palace) was also done by His Excellency the Former President, John Dramani Mahama with the involvement of the Gonja Traditional Council and the Gonjaland Youth Association. The pavement works was done by the Gonja Traditional Council with the support of Gonjaland Youth Association whiles the asphalting of the palace compound was through the efforts of the Hon. MP for Damongo and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and the Savannah Regional Minister”.
Giving more background information to the issues surrounding the Jakpa Palace, the President of the Gonjaland Youth Association said; “I wish to state that, after the demise of His Royal Majesty, Yagbonwura Sulemana Jakpa Tuntumba Boresa I, it became apparent that, the palace needed some renovation works in order to put it in a better shape before the new Yagbonwura is enskined.
“To this effect, the leadership of Gonjaland Youth Association took steps to secure a temporal accommodation for Yagbonwura whiles we make efforts to renovate the main Jakpa Palace and also consider the construction of a new Palace.
“It is important to mention that, the rent was paid for by His Excellency, the Former President, John Dramani Mahama through the Association.
“The Association subsequently visited all the Paramount Chiefs in Gonjaland including some Gonja communities in Upper West Region and the Bono East Region of Ghana to solicit for their inputs and support in order to arrive at a collective decision on the best manner to renovate and construct a new Jakpa palace.
“These consultations were necessary in order to build consensus on the best way that will serve the interest of all paramountcies who ascend to the Yagbon skin”.
The President of the the Gonjaland Youth Association further said the Association is the sole body with a mandate by the people of Gonjaland to handle these matters for and on behalf of the King, the chiefs and the kingdom as a whole”.
He entreated all members of the Association as part of their activities to rally all sons and daughters of the Kingdom to support in uplifting the Jakpa Palace.
Source: nkilgifmonline.com
