Nana Takyi Ababio, Krontihene of Fiapre, near Sunyani on
Tuesday denied as false, the accusation that he had been selling the Fiapre stool lands to enrich himself.
He said the allegation being leveled against him by Nana Opoku Ababio, chief of the town, were unfounded because the lands were vested in the Government of Ghana, hence it was the Lands Commission which had the mandate to zone or rezone them into statutory planning scheme and demarcate some into building, industrial and commercial plots.
"I have been accused of having sold virtually all Fiapre lands to enrich myself, this accusation is palpably false and unfounded and I wish to state that the lands issue were zoned, rezoned and demarcated by the Lands Commission", he said.
The chief said the zoning and demarcation was done "in collaboration with the statutory Planning Committee of both Sunyani Municipal Assembly and the Sunyani-West District Assembly which have the statutory authority to do so."
Nana Takyi Ababio made this denial in a statement signed by him and made copies available to the media at the Krontire family house in Fiapre.
"During my stewardship as the acting chief of Fiapre for the past seven to eight years, only two major schemes, the Fiapre West Scheme and the Atwimamenaso Scheme were created. And it was only in the Fiapre West Scheme that the Fiapre stool was given a protocol of fifty (50) plots", the statement said.
It said the Fiapre Zongo Lands, which the chief accused him of selling, was for his own benefit, saying "on the instruction of the chief, some plots were sold to raise money to assist his wife, Mavis, to join him in the United Kingdom".
"A friend of the chief, who assisted in the wife's travel arrangements was also, on the advice of the chief, allocated a plot to compensate him, in addition to paying GHC1,000.00 to Madam Yaa Serwaa, the chief's sister and her husband", the statement said.
The statement alleged that Nana Opoku Ababio has since his return from the United Kingdom (UK) disposed off eight plots of land at South Ridge Block 'H' (Fiapre Amanfoso), without the knowledge of his elders.
But the Lands Commission allocated those plots to the stool because as the old settlement of Fiapre, the idea was to keep and protect that place "so that our grandchildren would grow to see and learn from our heritage", the statement added.
It said Nana Takyi Ababio saved GHC20, 000.00 during the period of his stewardship from the sale of lands but expressed regret that instead of using the money for a proposed new palace on his return from the UK, Nana Opoku Ababio used the money to buy a Mercedes Benz salon car without consulting the elders of the stool.
Nana Ama Konadu Krontihemaa of Fiapre, also in another press statement thumb printed by her announced that Opanin Yaw Kusi, the Abusuapanin of the Krontire family, had been stripped of his position because he had connived with Nana Opoku Ababio in the matter.
The statement instructed that "all family properties in his care should be handed over to the Krontihemaa within one month".
"We wish to inform the general public and government/state agencies concerned who do any business whatsoever on behalf of the Krontire family with Abusuapani, does so at their own risk", the statement said, adding that Opanin Donkor of Chiraa is now the Krontire Abusuapanin".