The celebration of the 2024 Akwambo festival of the chiefs and people of Agona Swedru has suffered stiff protest from leaders of the Swedru Asafo Company. The protest is due to the alleged refusal of the Akwambo Planning Committee to comply with customs and traditions of the Area. Addressing a press conference to register their displeasure, Nana Kojo Acquah II, the Tufuhene of Agona Swedru and leader of the Asafo Company said the festival could not be celebrated by Swedruman Council of Chiefs without the involvement of the Asafo Company and an Odikro. He said it was against tradition and customs and was even blasphemous for a few individuals to have allegedly constituted an Akwambo committee to plan the festival when Nana Kobena Botwe II, Chief of Agona Swedru who died in 2021, had not been replaced. The Tufuhene said 'We are protesting because no group of persons or individuals have the power to celebrate Akwambo festival with no Odikro, Omankrado and the Asafo company to perform our unique ancestral ri tuals'. Nana Acquah hinted that the chiefs and people would never celebrate the festival with bloodshed, but rather have absolute peace, unity and true transformation. The Tufuhene therefore, called on the Central Regional House of Chiefs and Agona Nyakrom Traditional Council, the National Security Minister and Inspector General of Police to intervene as a matter of urgency and stop Swedruman Council of Chiefs from celebrating the festival to allow peace to prevail in the area. The Tufuhene presented a bottle of schnapps to the Asafo company and fired muskets to indicated total rejection of the proposed celebration of the festival. Nana Kobena Abam, the Agona Swedru Asafo Baatan, who gave history of the Akwambo festival said that it had never occurred that a group of persons would celebrate the festival without the Asafo and Odikro. He said the Asafo leaders had officially petitioned to the Swedru Divisional Police Commander and other security agencies to inform their offices about the danger of celebrat ing the festival. Nana Abam reminded the authorities that 2024 was an election year and nobody could guarantee the safety of the people if the committee was allowed to go ahead with the celebration. He cautioned that the Asafo leaders would resist all attempts by any individual and certain group of people who had taken advantage of the absence of Odikro, for their parochial interests. Nana Kofi Anyanful, Safohen of Ankobeahene family called on the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to intervene since the chiefs and people of Swedru were peace loving citizens. He expressed the hope that the alleged 2024 Akwambo festival planning committee would heed to the urgent advice to call off the celebration to ensure peace and harmony. Source: Ghana News Agency