Raphael Kumah Abolasom

CONCERNED NPP YOUTH OF NORTH-MO
Bamboi Zone
Bole District, Savannah Region
27th February 2021.

H. E. NANA ADDO DANWKA AKUFO-ADDO,
President of the Republic Of Ghana,
Jubilee House – Kanda-Accra

Dear Mr President,


PETITION TO CONSIDER APPOINTING THE NEXT BOLE DISTRICT CHIEF EXECUTIVE FROM NORTH MO TRADITIONAL AREA (BAMBOI ZONE) IN THE SAVANNAH REGION

We wish to humbly present to your good office this petition for your kind consideration in appointing the next District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Bole District from the North-Mo Traditional Area (Bamboi Zone) in the Bole District of the Savannah Region.
Your Excellency, our petition is hinged on the following reasons:

  1. There are two distinct traditional councils in the entire savannah Region; these are the Gonja Traditional Council (which has other Gonja Councils) and the North Mo Traditional Council. Savannah region, prior to its creation, the North Mo Traditional area was made to understand that, the voice of the minority will be heard, yet we see the contrary with particular reference to political inclusion. No man must be left out, there is therefore the need to get all hands on deck to ensure, that available resources are put to judicious use for the benefit all citizens.
  2. Mr. President, it is very important for us to emphasize that, Bamboi has never been an extension of Bole, it is not owned by Bole nor Gonjaland and the fact ought to be stated, that we are a distinct people with our Traditional Authorities and educated patriots who have been deeply involved in the brisk political activities of the New Patriotic Party in the fourth republic. Subsequently, there are only two (2) Traditional Areas in the entire Bole District. These are: the Bole Traditional Council and the North Mo Traditional Council. The North Mo Traditional Council is headquartered at Bamboi in the Bole District.
    Since the creation of the Bole District Assembly and in the political history of the New Patriotic Party, only people from the Bole Traditional Area (Gonjas) have always been appointed as District Chief Executives. It is imperative to state that, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has over the years denied all potential candidates from the North Mo Traditional Area or every other minority tribe to serve as DCE. The NPP has consistently swerved dedicated patriots in the North Mo Traditional Area (the Mo/Deg tribe) in particular and the many other minority tribes in general when appointments are being made. It is mind-boggling for a Constituency like ours to have derived its name from the two dominant towns and Traditional Areas as Bole-Bamboi, and yet all political appointments in the history of the New Patriotic Party are skewed in favour of only one tribe and Traditional Council. As a people, we are not happy being constantly excluded from NPP political appointments. Kindly permit us to state, that the NDC gave the Minority a chance to serve as DCE until 2016, we cannot say same when it comes to the NPP.
  3. Owing to the ethnically unfair and politically discriminatory nature of the governance structure of the Bole District Assembly especially in the fourth republican dispensation, plans were far advanced in mobilizing our Chiefs, Elders and people within the North Mo Traditional Area to exhaust every practicable means of carving our Traditional Area out of the old Northern Region in order to become part of the Bono or Bono East administrative Regions in the recent referendum which led to the creation of new administrative Regions in Ghana.
    It took a team of eminent Chiefs, led by the Buipe Wura Jinapor II, and key campaigners for the said referendum within the savannah enclave to impress upon our Traditional Authorities and their subjects and to also assure them of their fair inclusion in all political appointments to be made when the referendum became successful. Thankfully, the Chiefs and people of the North Mo Traditional Area saw reason to team up with our party folks to galvanize massive support for a successful referendum and we are of the firm belief that this is an opportune moment for the NPP government to take a smart advantage of the prevailing atmosphere and appoint a District Chief Executive from the Bamboi Area to serve with President Akufo-Addo in his second term.
  4. Apart from the comparatively huge revenues which the North Mo Traditional Area contributes to the general administrative and developmental functions of the Bole District Assembly, the North Mo Traditional Area has many educated and politically experienced people within the Elephant fraternity who equally qualify to spearhead the day to day administration of the very District which derives a chunk of its revenues from the economic activities undertaken by men and women from their Traditional Area.
    It is just fair and politically expedient that the Nana Akufo-Addo led NPP government rewards the good people of the North Mo Traditional Area with such a strategic appointment in order to make history for being the first President from the Busia – Dankwa – Dombo stock to have broken the jinx of such an ethnically biased and politically unhealthy trend of appointments which has negatively affected our collective drive to broaden our party’s support base by strengthening the spirit of inclusiveness and reward loyalty under the fourth republic. For the avoidance of doubt, the following people from the Bole Traditional Area have all served as District Chief Executives under the fourth republic and within the regimes of President J.A. Kufuor and President Akufo-Addo: Hon. Mahama Akati (appointed by President Kufuor, and from the Safope Royal Gate in Bole); Hon. Dr. Adams Achanso (appointed by President Kufuor, and from the Jagape Royal Gate in Bole); Hon. Hajia Salamatu Forgor (appointed by President Kufuor, and from the Safope Royal Gate in Bole); Hon. Jerry Yakubu Yahaya (appointed by President Kufuor, and from the Safope Royal Gate in Bole); and the incumbent D.C.E., Hon. Veronica Alele Heming, also from the Safope Royal Gate (appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo ). Therefore, it is our humble opinion that the good people of North Mo ought to be rewarded for their cooperation and patience over the period to have supported and worked with five (5) District Chief Executives all from just one of the only two Traditional Areas in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency and that the President will be gracious and politically calculative enough to reward the hardworking NPP loyalists in North Mo Traditional Area with the current slot to be issued as the sixth opportunity by an NPP government to appoint a DCE under the fouth republic.
  5. Mr. President, it is no secret that tensions get heightened in Bole and its environs anytime a DCE candidate is picked from Bole and more importantly from competing royal gates because the selection process over the period has virtually become synonymous with heirs to Traditional skins in that area. Similarly, prior to the appointment of DCEs in 2017, some Constituency executives sided with one of the interested parties. When their side lost out, it created friction between them and loyalists of the incumbent. This has constantly kept Bole-Bamboi in the news for the wrong reasons. A similar posture is being pursued once again and should be discouraged. For instance, the Constituency Chairman is supporting the acting Constituency Secretary to become the next Bole DCE, at the same time; the first vice-chair is also seeking same intention while lobbying alone. The Regional youth organizer whose father was once a DCE under President Kufuor’s era is seeking to occupy same office. Respectfully, this is not a healthy trend and should be abhorred.

In conclusion, Mr. President, the North Mo Traditional Area stands the brighter chance of presenting a candidate who wouldn’t be affiliated to any of the competing royal gates as stated above, and which Mo/Deg candidate would obviously leverage on his internal party neutrality, as well as the age abiding traditional and ethnic ties which continue to exist between Gonjas and Mos in order to protect the peace and spearhead our collective quest and aspirations for a swift development of the Bole District Assembly.

Yours faithfully,
………………………………
Victor Amoako Yantwumba (Convener /Public Relations Officer) – 0244096971
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Mrs. Dora Sulley (Former Deputy Constituency Women Organizer, Bole-Bamboi) -0547853506
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Mr. Luke Jabu (Communication Team Member, Bole-Bamboi) – 0551480779
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Mr. Yaw Bediako (Bamboi Zongo Polling station Chairman) – 0549888666 / 0508424191
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Mr. Yelfa Clement (Babator Electoral Area) –
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Dapaah Krah Joshua (Polling station Chairman, Carpenter) –
CC:
H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President, Republic of Ghana
Hon. Akosua Frema-Opare
Chief Of Staff, Office of the President
Hon. John Boadu
General Secretary
Hon. Dan Botwe
Minister, Local government
Nana Asante Bediatuo, Secretary to the President

The group recommended, among others, Raphael Kumah Abolasom to be appointed as DCE:

Raphael Kumah Abolasom – (0205727402 and 0248210888):

Raphael is the Bamboi Zongo polling station youth organizer, contested in the recent NPP parliamentary primaries in Bole-Bamboi, came second and lost by 64 votes. Apart from the fact that He is a youth activist of the party, He is a financier and served as a member of the Bole-Bamboi constituency 2020 campaign team.

He was a member of the savannah regional 2020 campaign team’s strategic committee on health. Raphael as a former student leader, served as the SRC President for UDS in 2014. In 2016, He solely financed the first-ever NPP free medical screening in the constituency and has an appreciation letter from the party to that effect.

He is a member of the NPP medical Team, Aspirants Unite for Victory 2020 and a member of the NPP Professionals for Change (P4C) group. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from UDS, Master’s degree in Public Administration from KNUST and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Ghana (awaiting graduation). Raphael is from Bamboi.