Mr Frank Okpenye
A former Nzema East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) in the Western Region, Frank Okpenye, was last Friday chased out of Gwira Banso by angry youth when he visited the community.
Reports indicate that as the former MCE set foot on the neglected community, the youth started hooting at him, amidst deafening shouts of “away, away, away”.
The embarrassed Mr Okpenye quickly entered his car and drove back to save his life and vehicle from being damaged.
Reports also say he is seeking to contest the NPP’s consituency chairmanship race, and had therefore gone to Gwira Banso to monitor the polling station elections.
Trigger
Investigations conducted by the Daily Statesman revealed that the action of the youth stemmed from the neglect of their community by Mr Okpenye during his tenure of office.
Some of the inhabitants also attributed the incident to be a spontaneous and pent-up anger in them, arising out of failure by government to select MCEs from the Gwira area.
Others also pointed out that the act of hostility towards Mr Okpenye was in protest against his clandestine moves to render the new MCE unpopular, in spite of the latter’s resolve to develop Gwira.
The Nzema East municipality is made up of three ethnic groups, namely the Evalues, Ajomoros and Gwiras, though all political appointments seem to be hijacked by the Evalues.
It is believed that Mr Okpenye and his successor, Elizabeth Dorcas Amoah, as well as Catherine Ablema Afeku, former MP for the area, and Nokoe, the incumbent NDC MP, are all Evaluas.
The Gwira Banso community feels peeved, marginalised and neglected, as they always complain about their poorly developed communities, with unmotorable road network being a major source of worry to the residents.
The youth recently organised a demonstration to demand reconstruction of a collapsed bridge in their community.
It is no secret that Catherine Afeku failed to retain her seat in the 2020 parliamentary elections because the Gwira area, which is also a galamsey community, massively voted against her.
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