Private legal practitioner Tsatsu Tsikata has called for reparations for residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL), arguing that they were unfairly left without parliamentary representation during Ghana’s 8th Parliament.
According to him, the situation followed the creation of the Oti Region under Constitutional Instrument 112, which effectively left the SALL communities without a Member of Parliament after the 2020 general elections.
Speaking at an honorary lecture and awards ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Mr Tsikata said later administrative steps—such as the creation of the Guan District and the Guan Constituency ahead of the 2024 elections—do not fully address the damage done.
“It cannot be said that the subsequent creation of a Guan district and a Guan constituency are sufficient to remedy the injustice to the people of SALL,” he said. “For one thing, the mere denomination of a district and a constituency does not provide the development resources that are the legitimate aspiration of the people.”
He maintained that beyond the absence of representation, residents also lost out on development opportunities that typically come through an elected lawmaker.
“For the period they lacked representation in Parliament and their share of the resources that could have been available through a Member of Parliament, I dare say they are owed reparation,” Mr Tsikata said.
He further described the episode as a “historic injustice,” attributing it to decisions by the Electoral Commission of Ghana, which he argued prevented eligible voters in the area from taking part in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
“Please remember that the EC itself has admitted that it would have been illegal to have asked the voters in those areas to vote in the Buem constituency in December 2020,” he said. “Yet, that is what the Constitutional Instrument, which the EC has claimed in its defence to the election petition to be the applicable instrument, provides.”
Mr Tsikata added that the matter is still before the courts, with affected residents continuing to pursue legal redress over their exclusion from the electoral process.
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