Members of United Kassena-Nankana East (UKaNaEast), an association of natives from communities within the Kasena Nankana East enclave of the Upper East region have mounted a fresh fight against a contractor Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba to render an unqualified and proper apology for some unsavory remarks he made about them.
Alhaji Bolnaba who doubles as the Upper East Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress came under fire for describing members of the association who earlier addressed a press conference to demand that he completes a road project as “useless people.”
He further rendered an apology but explained that a few people got him angry and that led him to describe the group as such adding that he had no problem with the people.
However, the association in a fresh release said it had subjected the apology to scrutiny and deemed it dishonest hence their demand for a proper apology.
“The union wishes to categorically state that it has all the intellectual and psychological algorithm or ability to decide an honest well-intended apology. Our algorithm called to run and therefore we reject it,” the statement said.
The livid members of the association further stated that claims by the embattled contractor that he had consulted some chiefs in the area to explain why work on the road project had stalled was “outright lies” and denigrating to the authority of the chiefs.
“We wish to draw the attention of Alhaji Bolnaba to the fact that he Bolnaba’s purported investigations and revelations that our respected traditional chiefs and opinion leaders did not support our press conférence are, for lack of better words, outright lies. This vicious attempt to drag the image of our chiefs and opinion leaders in the mud has highly angered the chiefs and opinion leaders and we the leadership and members shall follow this matter to its logical conclusion.”
They reiterated their demands that their road be fixed by him before September adding that “We cannot accept anything less a fully tarred road with properly constructed culverts and gutters.”
Below is the full statement
PRESS STATEMENT BY MEMBERS OF UNITED KASSENA-NANKANA EAST (UKaNaEast) IN REACTION TO ALHAJI MUMUNI BOLNABA’S “USELESS PEOPLE” RADIO INTERVIEW.
We the members of United Kassena-Nankana East (UKaNaEast) heard with heavy hearts a voice recording from Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba of the Bolnaba Construction Company Ltd who doubles as the Upper East Regional Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in reaction to our press conference held on 12th May, 2016 to demand the completion of the Kandiga-Mirigu-Sirigu road which was awarded to him in 2011. The said audio recording was subsequently aired on A1 radio in Bolgatanga. This recording is available at www.a1radioonline.com/2016/06/07/audio-useless-people-ue-ndc-regional-chairman-spits-fire-on-residents/.
In the audio, Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba described members of UKaNaEast (citizens of the seven communities namely Kandiga, Manyoro, Mirigu, Nabango, Natugnia, Sirigu and Yua) who organised the press conference as “useless people”. Alhaji Bolnaba erroneously claimed that his investigation showed that some NDC members who contested elections with him and lost were the brains behind the press conference and boldly mentioned Williams Akanyele as one of them. He even went further to drag the image of our seven highly respected traditional chiefs and opinion leaders into disrepute by alleging that he had consulted them and they said they were not aware of our press conference. Alhaji Bolnaba questioned why we could not consult him before going to organise a press conference and described that as the union and its leadership being unfair to him.
Additionally, Alhaji Bolnaba said he needed money and therefore had to go to the “Big people” to lobby for the contract. Bolnaba in his earlier interview said he would complete the road construction by the end of the month, which means end of June. However, in his subsequent statements, Alhaji Bolnaba said he would complete the road construction before the National General Election, November 7, 2016. In his very last interview with A1 radio Alhaji rather reluctantly made a semblance of an apology to the people who organised the press conference.
We wish to set the records straight by stating unequivocally that UKaNaEast is an APOLITICAL union of the citizens of the above mentioned communities formed in October 2014 with the main objective of fostering unity and peace for the political, social and economic development of the area and our noble chiefs are fully aware and in support of this union. We therefore find it very distasteful for Alhaji Bolnaba to try to link us to a political party just because he knows some members of the union who happens to be members of his political party. We take a strong exception to that. Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba should know that those people were first citizens of the area before deciding to join political parties. For the sake of clarity we further state that Mr Williams Akanyele is a recognised member of the union and has every right, under our constitution, to defend the decisions and interest of the union. Alhaji Bolnaba should not misconstrue this position with his personal issues he has with Mr Akanyele or any of those who contested with him and are from UKaNaEast area.
We wish to draw the attention of Alhaji Bolnaba to the fact that he Bolnaba’s purported investigations and revelations that our respected traditional chiefs and opinion leaders did not support our press conference are, for lack of better words, outright lies. As Mr Akanyele earlier indicated in his reaction with A1 radio, our revered chiefs had representatives to the press conference. This vicious attempt to drag the image of our chiefs and opinion leaders in the mud has highly angered the chiefs and opinion leaders and we the leadership and members shall follow this matter to its logical conclusion.
Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba said we were unfair to him by going to the press without consulting him. We are of the opinion that Bolnaba either failed to read our press conference statement or did not understand it. We were very clear. Portions of our statement read “this conference is to register our displeasure with the contractors, the sector ministry and department and government at large’. Why did Bolnaba consider it that our press conference was directed at his person and him alone?. We also indicated in our press conference statement that “several appeals and reminders have been made by chiefs, youth groups and civil society to government and the contractors to expedite action on the construction of the road but all pleas have gone unheeded. The most recent one is the press release by Kandiga Youth Association demanding attention to the road…..”. This was further explained by Mr Akanyele in his response to the A1 radio interaction. There have been other press conferences held in the past concerning same road without any government or the contractors’ response. Bolnaba should note that we have been very fair to due process; we have been to the regional engineers before and even proceeded to the Ghana Cocoa Roads Projects office in Accra. He should also know that fairness is a two-way traffic and that he has been the first and worse culprit of disregard for the chiefs and opinion leaders by creating diversions without visible signposts that have caused several fatal accidents.
Alhaji Bolnaba conceded that he needed money and therefore went to the “Big people” to lobby for the contract and has competently failed to execute the work. Due to the inconsistency of Alhaji Bolnaba’s dates of completing the road and his desire for money, we refuse to accept the hypothesis that he will complete construction of the road by the November 7, deadline.
On the 7th of June, 2016, when A1 Radio – 101.1MHz, played the recorded voice of Alhaji Bolnaba and got him on air to react to his “useless people” comment, Alhaji Bolnaba declined to apologise. Even the host of the programme tried hard to tell Bolnaba that those comments were inappropriate yet he refused to back down. We were flabbergasted that Mumuni Bolnaba took that entrenched position even though several people called into the programme and urged Alhaji to apologise. On the following day, Alhaji passed a semblance of an apology to the people. The union wishes to categorically state that it has all the intellectual and psychological algorithm or ability to decode an honest well-intended apology. Our algorithm failed to run and therefore WE REJECT IT.
Going forward, we wish to demand without any equivocation the following from Alhaji Mumuni Bolnaba:
1. To as a matter of urgency offer A PROPER and an unqualified apology through the same medium to the chiefs, sub-chiefs, elders, opinion leaders who are all members of this union and the general citizenry of the area about his unsavoury language used on us on radio.
2. Follow up personally to ask for a pardon from the chiefs to clear his way to be able to step foot in our territory.
3. Ensure that the road is completed by SEPTEMBER, 2016.
4. We CAN NOT accept anything less a fully tarred road with properly constructed culverts and gutters.
We also wish to state that within one week if he doesn’t do the first two items of the above, we shall advise ourselves accordingly.
While we await his response, we urge all members of UKaNaEast, home and abroad, to restrain from attacking the person of Alhaji Bolnaba, his community and the NDC party.
We wish to state that as a development oriented union, we are prepared to partner with our sister unions like BONABOTO to see to the socio-economic advancement of Upper East Region.
We also wish to remind our members that the one month ultimatum is almost over and we have not seen any significant work on the road. We shall per our press conference statement evoke our next line of action- DEMONSTRATION.
We greet you all in the spirit of UKaNaEast.
UKaNaEast, Zurugaluu Ende Keongo!!!
Wisdom A. Akurugu (General Secretary)
Contact Person (PRO, Prosper Akulia): 0200470473/0201042380/0202054519
Distribution: Radio A1 Tanga Radio Word FM Nabina Radio
Story by: Offei- Akoto Ayeh | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
