On Thursday, July 18, tensions flared between officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and Chief Nana Addo Boaman of Nahinso, as they accused him of unauthorized filling of a local wetland.

The dispute arose amid concerns over environmental impacts and legal implications linked to the Chief's actions.

Chief Nana Addo Boaman defended his stance, arguing that filling the wetland was crucial to mitigate flooding and to address longstanding issues with poor road conditions and water accumulation.

This incident marks the second clash between the Chief and NADMO officials over his attempts to alter the land.

“I told them that this is a problem that I came to inherit, it is not something that was created by me. On the record, I came to meet all these buildings here and upon the complaints that have been coming from them, I told them that I can’t sit down and the right place for me to go is to go to the assembly.

“I have been there not less than eight years. Initially, my plea was he should help me with an excavator to come and clear the waterway and he told me emphatically that I should go and see the assembly member.

“As of the time he was telling me this, somebody within the assembly told me that people had just been elected and had not been inaugurated yet,” he stated.

In response, Frank Duodu, the Ashanti Regional Director of NADMO, issued orders for the Chief's arrest, asserting that he lacked the authority to fill the wetland.

Duodu underscored environmental concerns, highlighting that the area is designated as a wetland and warning of potential severe ecological damage due to the Chief's actions.

Officials from GRIDCo also voiced concerns about potential risks to their pylons posed by the Chief's use of laterite to fill the area. They alleged that the roadworks served as a cover for illicit activities in the wetland.

In response to the situation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) erected warning signs to restrict access to the site.

Ashanti Regional Programmes Officer of the EPA, Daniel Kofi Teye, appealed to the Asantehene to intervene and prevent local Chiefs from developing wetlands in their jurisdictions.

Following the altercation, the Chief was taken into custody at the Asokwa Police Command for further investigation.