By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
A former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has encouraged members of the various tribes in the country who are eligible under the citizenship laws of Ghana but yet to have the Voters’ Identity Cards to take advantage of the upcoming limited Voters’ Registration exercise to get their names on the electoral roll ahead of this year’s district-level elections and next year’s presidential and parliamentary polls.
He warned political agents and parties against employing machinations to deny willing applicants from certain ethnic groups who turn up to be registered their legal rights.
Alhaji Dauda was addressing a grand durbar of various ethnic groups in Kumasi. It was to climax the 40th anniversary of the enskinment of Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Gado Watara as the Chief of the Wangara Community in the Ashanti region.
The event attracted patronage from dignitaries from Ashanti and beyond, including the Chief of Banda in the Bono region and the Kpembe Wura in the Savanna region.
According to Alhaji Dauda, who is also the MP for Asutifi South in the Ahafo region, the various laws in Ghana since 1960, including the current Constitution, have outlined the citizenship eligibility of people and not by any individual or group of persons.
“The 1960 citizenship law confers citizenship on any individual with any of his or her grand grand parents or parents was born in Ghana. I’m a Mosi, just as my mother and father, as well as my grandparents. However, the birthplace of my great-grandparents is unknown, but that does not deprive me of my citizenship as a Ghanaian. How then can anyone, based on either the name or facial features, deprive anyone of his or her Ghanaian citizenship?” he explained.
The MP therefore urged the leadership of the various tribal groupings in the country to unite towards promoting their collective interests, especially during times of voter registration and elections.
