The Osu Traditional Council is accusing government of hiding behind some chiefs in Accra to illegally grab their lands.
This follows complaints by the Achimota School and other institutions that some powerful people in government are selling their lands to private developers.
Nii Noi Osikan Kpeneku the Shippi Dudor of Osu, spoke on behalf of the chiefs at a news conference in Accra.
“Achimota School/Osu stool property, whatever the courts have said, has only set to divide Osu. It is rather strange and pathetic for the Mankralo of Osu, Nii Akonoteye IV to disown Nii Nortey Owuo III the legitimate and substantive Osu Mantse as having been destooled without any evidence.”
He said there was no proof of the ceremony of destoolment yet he proceeded “out of his own selfish interest and greed to wrongfully appoint his own Osu Mantse.”
The Shippi Dudor said, the Mankralo is not part of and not a member of the kingmakers of Osu, adding, they are unhappy because it is the stool lands of Osu that they are toying with.
“Nii Nortey Owuo III has the capacity and his council has the capacity, support for the indigenes of Osu, and the traditional authority backing and can, therefore, take decisions effectively dealing with Osu stool lands boundaries and properties,” he said.
He warned that “Under no circumstance should government consider releasing Osu stool lands or property to the impostor, Kenkan Duwouna of Ga Faatse Kpeshie.”
The group is also cautioning and alerting individuals, groups, state operatives, organisations and estate developers who are dealing with Mr Duwouna to desist from that practice.
Explaining further the demands of the people of Osu, Omanhene of the Osu traditional Council, Nii Nortey Adumuah IV told Joy News they are putting their feet down now because they are tired with successive governments “toying with our stool.”
“Anybody comes in and tries to impose a chief on us. Nobody waits for any proper exit of any incumbent chief. They come and somebody has to find his own way of creating his own chief in a way of getting to our property,” he said.
He said these governments do this so they get the signature of the chiefs who sign their properties for them.
Counting how many of their properties have been wrongly sold, Mr Odumoa said: “in fact, if I should say, Osu is halfway finished, because if you start from Ridge and you get to Ring Road Estate and see these high rise buildings, you ask yourself who is in charge.”
According to him, the stool lands were vested in trust to the Lands Commission not that it belongs to the Commission so when giving the lands out, they must consult the Traditional Council.
The traditional council, he said, gave some of the lands out on rent and lease, adding the one that government officials bought is already in the buyer’s possession.
“The Osu Matse layout has everything in there, every single land in there is vested in the government. If the lease and everything on it has expired we expect them to reverse to give the land back to us. If it is to be used for another project, they have to come and re-acquire it,” he explained.
Some of the properties he said expired between 20 and 30 years.
