Kpando: Asianu Royal Family express disappointment in Volta Regional House of Chiefs over installation of new Akpinifia
The Asianu Royal Family of Kpando says it is disappointed in the Volta Regional House of Chiefs for sitting aloof and allowing a new Akpinifia to be installed.
On the back of longstanding chieftaincy issues, a new paramount chief of Kpando was confined and outdoored on Sunday 6th March 2022.
Referencing the Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee Report in a press release from the Asianu Royal Family, it says the installation of the new Akpinifia is illegal.
This is because the Asianu/Bisiaku Royal Family identified not only the political head of the Akpini Kpeke Etor but also the spiritual concierge of the Akpini State was sidelined in the processes that led to the installation of the Akpinifia.
In its press release, the Asianu Royal family says it is disappointed in the Volta Regional House of Chiefs for failing to call the parties that supervised the wrong installation of the Akpinifia to order.
“Finally, we would like to express our disappointment at the Volta Region House of Chiefs, who failed to act to preserve the good work of the Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee. We would have wished they had called all parties to order and insisted that the road map laid out in the Committee’s report be followed,” part of a release from the Asianu Royal Family signed by Togbui Adevu II reads.
It concludes, “For us, the battle continues, and we look forward to the day when Kpando will recognize the proper order of its leadership and embrace all sides for the upliftment and development of the Akpini State.”
Read the release from the Asianu Royal Family below:
3rd March, 2022
Statement by the Asianu Royal Family of Kpando on the Akpini Chieftaincy Matter (Reference Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee Report)
We the members of the Asianu Royal family have observed with disappointment and dismay the events of the last few weeks in Kpando, resulting in the purported installation of the Akpinifia starting on the 27th of February 2022.
We have also taken careful note of the contents of a statement from the Anyigbefia and Aυafiagã, Togbui Afendza III, calling on all citizens of Kpando to support the rushed and incomplete installation process.
We must first put on record that the Asianu family has always respected the law, and has always used peaceful and legitimate means to pursue our claims to the Akpini stool. Otherwise, we would not have patiently spent decades since the early 1980s, fighting our cause through the courts and the Regional and National Houses of chiefs. It is our restraint that has allowed other people to repeatedly cast our concerns aside and ride roughshod over the legitimacy of the Asianu line.
It would interest the public to note that every major effort that has been made to resolve the Kpando Chieftaincy matter has acknowledged the right of the Asianu family to lead the Akpini State. The first was the Adzovie Committee report of 1985, and the latest was the Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee report of 2018.
The key findings of the Adzovie Committee report read in part:
“When Asianu was appointed to be the leader it was authorized that his descendants are royal family. However, as we have dealt with earlier above the Bisiaku family has for about the 120 odd years been also part of this family though they are from the matrilineal stock. We think that for peace and unity this royal family remain enlarged to include these descendants (Patrilineal and Matrilineal) of the Asianu lineage. And again, advise that a chief be installed for the Bisiaku clan.”
The Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee was established by the Volta Region House of Chiefs in 2017 to help resolve the Kpando Paramountcy dispute, and by extension to pave the way for unification of the Akpini state. The Committee sat for over a year, speaking to all possible factions in the dispute. Its final report was unveiled at a ceremony at Kpando Secondary School on September 7, 2020 and handed over to Togbui Afendza III on behalf of the three Senior Divisional Chiefs of Kpando.
For the avoidance of doubt, we would like to reproduce below a key section of the findings of this important Committee.
“The Asianu/Bisiaku Royal Family is not only the political head of the Akpini Kpeke Etor but also the spiritual concierge of the Akpini State. The Asianu/Bisiaku Royal Family members hold both the political as well as the spiritual keys to the unity, peaceful coexistence and development of Akpini State.”
We have gone through these extensive quotes to emphasize that the Asianu lineage is not one that can be cast aside lightly.
Soon after the Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee’s report was released, the Asianus set about working to unify the two sides of the family leading to the installation of a new paramount chief. Key leaders of the Bisiaku family were approached, and a committee was set up to identify and propose candidates. Togbui Afendza III as the most senior Divisional Chief was informed, as well as the Volta Region House of Chiefs.
The Committee sought audience with the Kpekpe Etor chiefs to introduce themselves and update the chiefs on the work being done. However, the introduction could not take place because the third Senior Divisional Chief, Togbui Asumadu of Dzigbe, had not been installed.
After the installation of Togbui Asumadu VIII in November 2021, the committee again requested audience with the Kpekpe Etor chiefs, but our requests went unheeded until we heard of a new candidate being nominated by one side only, and accepted by only a section of Kpekpe Etor.
Our dismay with recent events stems from the fact that some members of the Bisiaku clan went ahead with the connivance of some chiefs and elders to go through a nomination process without any recourse to the Asianu family. We are also disappointed that a unified committee of the Asianus and Bisiakus was not recognized let alone given the light of day to present itself to the chiefs and people of Kpando.
We the Asianus are people of peace, and we pride ourselves that in spite of all our frustrations we have not resorted to force and coercion to promote our cause as others have done. What we see today is a repeat of what has happened in the last 40 years, where one side believes it has the sole right to the Akpini stool and yet is unable to rule effectively and unify Kpando for development.
We the Asianus do not bear ill feelings towards the new candidate or even the people who have pursued this path of division and acrimony. We remain steadfast in the legitimacy of Asianu, Adedze and Eko as the leaders of the Akpini state, which will never be complete without Asianu.
To those who want to deny the relevance of the Asianu family in Kpando, we have this to say: We are the only group of people that has been recognized by all legal forums in the past 40 years of Akpini matters. We continue to insist on the right order of affairs for Kpando in a fearless but peaceful manner.
Finally, we would like to express our disappointment at the Volta Region House of chiefs, who failed to act to preserve the good work of the Togbe Kwaku Ayim Committee. We would have wished they had called all parties to order and insisted that the road map laid out in the Committee’s report be followed.
For us, the battle continues, and we look forward to the day when Kpando will recognize the proper order of its leadership and embrace all sides for the upliftment and development of the Akpini State.