Nana Oppong Boadi, the Vice President of the Asante Youth Association, has issued a one-month ultimatum to the government to resume work on various abandoned projects in the Ashanti Region.
Nana Oppong Boadi expressed his disappointment at the Akufo-Addo government, insisting that the President has not been fair to the residents of the Ashanti Region.
He insisted that the government must take urgent steps to address the various concerns they are raising or the group will stage a protest against the government.
“From today till November, if these projects are still abandoned, and the contractors of those who are supposed to work are not on the site, we will go there ourselves and see if they are not there, we are going to protest. We will organize all the youth in the Asante Kingdom to fight.”
Nana Oppong Boadi
Citing several abandoned projects in the region, the Vice President pledged to mobilize all the youth in the region to protest against the government should their plea go unattended in a month.
“All Kumasi projects are at a standstill. The Central Market project is abandoned, as for Komfo Anokye Maternity Block and, Airport Projects, we don’t know what is going on again. Bosomtwe road we don’t know what is going on again. Manso Nkwanta, Anhiawa Nkwanta, Kwabre roads, no work is going on. They have not started any major work in Suame.”
Nana Oppong Boadi
Furthermore, Nana Oppong Boadi expressed his disappointment at the President’s neglect of the region despite the massive votes he got from the region.
“It is uncalled for. The way Asantes rallied behind President Akufo-Addo, we never expected him to do this, and he has not been fair to Asantes and NPP people in the region.”
Nana Oppong Boadi
The association has therefore called on the government to prioritize development in the region.
The group has also expressed its disappointment with the Ashanti Region residents who have been appointed to ministerial positions and the over 40 Members of Parliament in the region for not doing enough to lobby for development.
They have thus threatened to campaign against the MPs in the general elections if they don’t put in place measures to ensure the region receives its fair share of development.
A political historian at KNUST, Prof. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, however, urged electorates in the region to take serious measures to demand development from the government.
“It is quite disappointing. Votes must translate into development. They must show that in protest and demonstration and public agitation, they must show that in open speeches and discussions like I am doing now. Because when people queue to vote, they don’t have to beg for development.”
Prof. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi
According to him, the posture of the NPP and the silence of the Asante people pose a threat to the country’s young democracy.
“It is very key that if you have the NPP as a government and Asante is not doing well. Asante is not doing well because the NPP has not done so well when they have been in power in terms of the region. And it has come around because they have taken the people for granted. They feel that rain or shine they will queue to vote for them as a party and if the people in this region continue to allow this insult to subsist it means that our embryonic democracy will not grow to even become a zygote.”
Prof. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi
Nana Oppong Boadi added that the era when Asantes voted for anyone based on affiliation, lineage, or stature is over. He charged constituents to vote for people with integrity, credibility, and have made contributions towards the region.
The group, Ashanti Youth Association (AYA), has been in existence for the past 70 years, advocating for development in the region.
