Tanyigbe Traditional Council Honours Ho Central MP

The chiefs and people of the Tanyigbe traditional area celebrated Easter in style, dedicating the occasion in honour of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho Central, Mr. Benjamin Kpodo, and conferring on him the title of a distinguished citizen of the area.

According  to the tradition of the Tanyigbe people to dress a citizen in kente and cover the head with white clothe  is a symbol of recognition and honour as done to the MP on behalf of the traditional Council by the Mankrado of the Tanyigbe traditional area, Togbe  Tomagbetanu.

The traditional Council presented a citation to the MP which was signed by the Paramount Chief of the Area, Togbe Kwasi Adiko V and five other divisional chiefs of the area, which read 'The Tanyigbe traditional Council has been following your activities in the development of the area and your desire to represent the people at the national level and with determination you are the MP for Ho Central today. This award is to urge you to serve your constituency better' among others'.

The programme which was held at Tanyigbe- Anyigbe, attracted prominent citizens from the area including  Major General (rtd) Anyidoho and the Head of Communications at the Presidency, Mr. Koku Anyidoho who commended Mr. Kpodo for his hard work that led to his election as the MP for Ho Central.

As tradition demands, all the five communities that constitute the Tanyigbe traditional area made various presentations to the MP and a ram is the symbolic gift from all the communities in addition to other items and the Norvisi Development Union  (NORDU) which is a common festival celebrated by more than eight traditional areas including Tanyigbe also made presentation as well as the various churches in the traditional area.

Addressing the large crowd, the Paramount chief of the Tanyigbe traditional area, Togbe Adiko V recalled his participation in politics during the Gold Coast era and stressed that politics was to ensure rapid development of the people and asked the new MP to be focused and seek the interest of the nation first in his activities as well as the people he represent.

Togbe Adiko said the chiefs and people of the traditional area were happy that a citizen of the area was elected as MP, adding that it was historic in that this was the first time in the political history of the area that a citizen of Tanyigbe had been elected, and urged the people to support Mr. Kpodo in the discharge of his duties in order to ensure success.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho West, Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, who represented the Volta Caucus in Parliament at the function, commended the Ho Central MP, and described him as somebody full of wisdom, as well as being willing to speak his mind freely on national issues.

Mr. Bedzrah said Mr. Kpodo was a member of the Parliamentary Sub Committee on Finance,  and that in view of his vast experience as a professional Accountant, he was made the Deputy Chairman of the Committee.

The Ho West MP, however, reminded the people of the basic duties of an MP, which, he stated, was to make laws for the nation, but in so doing, the MP could use his contact with organisations and individuals, as well as lobby the government, to bring development to his constituency.

He said it would not be in the interest of the people and the MP if they started mounting pressure on him for development.

The Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Isaac Kodobisah, said he hoped that the people would not engage in activities that would disrupt the efforts and good intentions of the MP, because it was a common knowledge that people who praised leaders like the MP, sooner or later turned against him.

Mr. Kpodo thanked the Tanyigbe traditional area for the honour done him, and promised to work hard to promote development in the Constituency.

He said his good intentions could not be achieved if the people failed to give him the necessary cooperation and assistance.

Earlier, there was a procession through the major streets of Tanyigbe, as various drumming groups displayed the rich culture of the people, including the local 'asafo 'groups, to mark the occasion.