A youth group calling itself the Concerned Youth of Ashanti says the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) disrespected the Ashantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu when its demonstrators disrupted the Awukudae ritual Wednesday.

The group alleged demonstrators of Wednesday’s Baamuyanda demonstration tried to enter the palace at Nsuase-Adum where Otumfuor was performing the rituals.

Speaking to Joy News, the President of the group, Nana Agyenim Boateng disclosed it took the efforts of security officials to quell the attempts made by the demonstrators to gain access to the palace.

On April 6, Pro-NPP pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) embarked on a demonstration in what it described as the last resort to push the Electoral Commission (EC) to clean the voter’s register ahead of the parliamentary and presidential polls in November.

The demonstration which is dubbed Baamuyanda [which means “we won’t agree” in the Hausa language] attracted a mammoth of demonstrators who walked through the principal streets of Kumasi in protest of the EC’s defiance to clean the voter’s register.

But Nana Agyenim said: “They [NPP members] don’t have respect for this land”, arguing if the party meant well they would have done their background checks to realize that the Asantehene was performing the ritual on that day.

“The youth of Asante will not sit down for the NPP to take us for granted”, he said adding the NPP should stop using the regions as grounds for their attacks against the government.

In his response, NPP Regional Organizer, Stephen Amoah denies the claim arguing nobody disrupted the ritual of Otumfuor.

“We never knew the ritual was taking place”, he said adding the Otumfuor is highly respected by the NPP and its flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo.

He described the attempt to discredit the demonstration as a mere propaganda sanctioned by the governing NDC.