Oti Region: Minister orders removal of “June 4” trees planted by NDC members

The Oti regional minister, Joshua Makubu, has ordered for the removal of all the trees that were planted by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as part of the party’s celebration of the 4 June anniversary this year.

The 4 June uprising was staged in 1979 to release J J Rawlings, who later became a military ruler and a democratically elected president in Ghana. He was the founder of the NDC.

As part of the celebration, the leadership of the NDC planted trees at the Nkwanta Community Day SHS in the Oti Region.

However, the minister said using a school premises for the tree planting exercise was inappropriate.

Speaking at Kpasa Senior High Technical School to mark this year’s ‘Green Ghana Day’, Makubu said: “4 June was a day people’s parents and lovely ones were killed and many have lost their livelihood. People are still crying over it. For this reason, it is not an occasion to plant trees that will keep hurting such families as the NDC did.”

“We can not sit down as a country, as a municipality, as a region or a school and allow trees to be planted on a compound to signify this day where people lost their lives. We are indirectly saying that, if your grandfather was General FK Abu, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and General Afrifa, then it means that you shouldn’t come to Nkwanta Community Senior High School because if you come there, you will see the trees there and you will remember June 4 and you will remember the death of your father and other loved ones who lost their lives,” the minister said.

“We are still hurting and causing pain to this generation and for that matter I disagree with the idea of planting trees on a school compound to commemorate 4 June.

“I’m a member of the New Patriotic Party, as a regional minister and I will never under any circumstances allow the New Patriotic Party to get into any senior high school campus to plant trees to commemorate a party event and I cannot allow such from any other party to put tears on the faces of my people,” Makubu added.

He therefore directed the Nkwanta South MCE, Bright Lenwah to make sure that the trees were removed.

“If you want to plant your party trees, get a land, invite us and we’ll come but not on a school belonging to the country,” Makubu said.

Story by Solomon Mensah-Ahiable