Onua Maakye host Captain Smart says the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive Elijah Adansi-Bonah has told him he ordered for the morning show being hosted at Obuasi to be stopped on Thursday morning.
The Maakye team were supposed to have a three-day running show in the Obuasi municipality as part of its Peoples’ Assembly following the recent trapping of some illegal miners in the Anglogold Ashanti Mine shaft.
The Peoples’ Assembly, an offshoot programme of the Onua morning show, Maakye, gives people the opportunity to present their challenges before authorities for immediate response to be provided.
With several reports of encounters between illegal miners and stakeholders of the Anglogold Ashanti Mine, the Maakye team stormed the municipality to ascertain from the people, what the underlying force for the numerous brawls could be.
But after the first day, some thugs led by a well built (macho) young man massacred the technical equipment of the set saying the NPP executives who attended the programme the previous day were booed when speaking, the reason they wouldn’t allow the show to continue on Thursday.
But speaking with Isaac Ansah Apagya back at Onua TV studios in Accra, host of the show, Captain Smart, said he called the MCE himself when the machoman said he wouldn’t allow the programme to take off.
“…So I asked him that you wouldn’t allow the show to go on in your capacity as who? He said he has been sent by an authority and I asked him, who sent you and he said the MCE. Then I called the MCE myself and his explanation was that, where we organised the programme is a parking lot for the assembly and they charge people for parking there so we were supposed to pay some money to the assembly. Then I said but I was with you on Tuesday night for almost two hours when we arrived. We were told they were going to bring a receipt for us to pay because we also have to render account to our bosses when we return so we needed the receipt but they did not bring it,” Captain Smart narrated.
Meanwhile, he denied an allegation made earlier on the show by a youth organiser of the NPP, one Bright Nyampong who said the team did not seek permission from the assembly before hosting the event there.
Captain Smart clarified that, “it is not correct that we didn’t seek permission. I spoke to the caretaker of the place on phone, he is called Muniru and he told us to give him time to discuss with the assembly to do their calculations to know whether to reduce or increase the rate for us and we never heard from him again.”
Captain Smart further assured residents of Obuasi, especially the youth, to remain calm amid the already growing tension in the area.
“All tempers at Obuasi should calm down because there is already tension here. The youth say they don’t need any violence anymore but if you come and don’t give them the needed development, they will show you the way out,” he indicated.
READ ALSO: Alleged NPP thugs attack Onua Maakye team at Obuasi; Day 2 of Peoples’ Assembly in limbo
