Former Deputy Energy minister under the erstwhile John Mahama Administration Mr. John Abudulai Jinapor has caution traditional leaders in the country to stay away from the political ‘boxing ring’ to help them avoid receiving punches from politicians.
“When the Chiefs descend to the arena where we politician throw jabs at each other, then they are within the boxing ring and once you are within the boxing ring, there is the tendency that you would be caught up with blow or a knock. Hence, I think we should all ensure and advocate that our chiefs stay off active partisan politics”. Mr Jinapor said this in an interview with Joy FM monitotred by MyNewsGH.com.
Mr. John Abu Jinapor’s statement comes in response to the current debate and controversies surround the open endorsement of candidates by some chiefs ahead of the 2020 general election.
So far, both the NDC presidential candidate John Mahama and Nana Akufo Addo of the NPP have been endorsed by some chiefs in the country during their campaign tours.
Meanwhile, the constitution of the Republic of Ghana spells it out clearly that traditional leaders or Chiefs should stay away from active politics.
However, Mr. Jinapor who is MP for Yapei-Kusawgu insisted that the situation at hand shouldn’t be politicised but must be dealt with holistically to save the integrity of traditional rulers in the country
“It is not an issue of NDC or an NPP position but it is the constitution; the constitution is the supreme law. If we want chiefs to be actively involved in politics, let’s amend that portion”, he said.
Mr. Jinapor suggested that if the country is ready to allow Chiefs to take part in party politics then portions of the constitution that forbids them from taking part should be interrogated properly.
According to him, since chiefs are also citizens of the country, they can freely talk about the politics of the country but when they take sides, “especially when you take a look at our heated political structure, it becomes a very big problem for all of us”.
“The chiefs are respected; we revere them…and I have had an occasion where when somebody made an unpalatable statement about a chief, the entire leadership of a political party moved to the chief’s palace to atone or plead and respect that institution”, he recalled.
