Officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) on Thursday, July 18, clashed with the Chief of Nahinso, accusing him of filling a local wetland.
The heated exchange took place amidst concerns over the environmental impact and legal implications of the Chief’s actions.
Chief Nana Addo Boaman defended his actions, claiming that his efforts to fill the area were intended to prevent flooding. He insisted that his work was necessary to address long-standing issues with poor road conditions and water accumulation.
This is the second time the Chief has clashed with officials of NADMO over his attempts to fill the land.
“I told them that this is a problem that I came to inherit, it is not something that was created by me. On the record, I came to meet all these buildings here and upon the complaints that have been coming from them, I told them that I can’t sit down and the right place for me to go is to go to the assembly.
“I have been there not less than eight years. Initially, my plea was he should help me with an excavator to come and clear the waterway and he told me emphatically that I should go and see the assembly member.
“As of the time he was telling me this, somebody within the assembly told me that people had just been elected and had not been inaugurated yet,” he stated.
However, Ashanti Regional Director of NADMO, Frank Duodu, ordered the arrest of the Chief, arguing that he had no right to fill the wetland. Duodu emphasised the environmental repercussions, noting the area is a designated wetland, and the Chief’s actions could lead to severe ecological damage.
GRIDCo officials also raised concerns about the dangers posed to their pylons by the Chief’s use of laterite to fill the area. They alleged that the roadworks were a cover for the illegal filling of the wetland.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has since erected warning signs to prevent further access to the area. Ashanti Regional Programmes Officer of the EPA, Daniel Kofi Teye, appealed to the Asantehene to intervene and stop local Chiefs from developing wetlands in their jurisdictions.
Following the confrontation, the Chief was taken to the Asokwa Police Command to assist with investigations.
