'I am the legitimate chief of Nungua' - Nungua Mantse

Accra, July 21, GNA - King (Dr) Odaifio Welentsi III, the Paramount Chief of Nungua, has said he is the lawful enstooled Mantse of Nungua.

He said the Supreme Court judgement on February 17, 2010 which some people were relying on to lay claim to the stool is not about who the Nungua chief is, but it was a matter of law concerning the Executive Instrument (EI) 18 - and this does not relate to the state of the chieftaincy.

King Dr Welentsi said this during the signing of a statement witnessed by 17 other chiefs with attached copies of the court rulings and copied the Ghana News Agency on Friday.

He said the EI 18 was about an appeal by Nii Odai Ayiku IV, the former chief of Nungua.

'It was Nii Odai Ayiku IV vrs the Attorney General that the EI 18 which is the Nungua Chieftaincy Affairs (Nii Odai Ayiku IV) Prohibition Instrument of 1983, was declared null and void,' King Dr Welentsi said.

He said: 'The decision of the Supreme Court was to the effect that by virtue of the Transitional Provisions of the 1992 Constitution, Section 15 (2) the Supreme Court cannot question the EI 18 and dismissed the appeal.'

He said the appellant's application for review was also dismissed on June 14, 2011 by the Supreme Court.

In this regard, the Nungua Mantse said, several attempts to remove him as chief of Nungua have been dismissed at the courts.

'I, therefore, submit that the publication, which is being circulated to the effect that King Dr Odaifio Welentsi III is not Nungua Mantse, is calculated to harass, embarrass and tarnish my image and urge all to ignore them. Nungua is at peace,' he said.

GNA