‘We Have No Paramount Chief’ &#8211; Agave State Declares

Chiefs and citizenry of Agave in the South Tongu District have come out to declare that they do not have a Paramount Chief.

This statement was made after an emergency meeting held on Friday 7th March, 2025 at Dabala, between Divisional Wing Chiefs, Opinion Leaders, and the citizens of the state.

This follows a petition sent to the Divisional Wing Chiefs of the state by the Agave Youth Council regarding the criminal accusations levelled against Mr. Edward Agbeti (also known as Edward Allan Agbeti or Prince Koffi Adiabo) the ‘supposed’ Paramount Chief.

“Today all the Divisional Chiefs, Wing Chiefs, and their sub-chiefs have met today in the Palace of the Late Togbega Degenu Azaxe III … and we have resolved that all this embarrassment is going on because we don’t have a Paramount Chief in Agave.

“The Clan in charge of selecting candidates for the Paramount Stool have claimed they have not selected anyone to be installed. The clan in charge of enstoolment of Chiefs for the Paramountcy said they have not enstooled any Chief for the Agave Paramountcy.

The whole of Agave had resolved that we should see to nominate a candidate and see to enstool him as Togbega, the Paramount Chief, and with that we shall move forward’ – Togbe Boatre VII declared after the emergency meeting.

Background

A police complaint was made recently to the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Education Service by a man named Mr. Edward Allan Agbeti against the Headmaster of Dzodze-Penyi Penyi Senior High School (DZOSEC), Mr. Prince Kofi Adiabo for impersonation and theft of certificates for undue advantage.

Following that, the Ghana Education Service (GES) interdicted him and has since been invited and is yet to show up.

It happened that Mr. Prince Koffi Adiabo had used the names and credentials he is being accused of to gazette himself as a Paramount Chief for Agave Traditional Council.

Subsequently the family of Mr. Prince Koffi Adiabo made a public statement, represented by Mr. Wise Adiabo, to reprimand the behaviour of the Headmaster of DZOSEC and the embarrassment his actions has caused the family.

Surprisingly, the spokesperson of the Adiabo family was later harassed by some men in police and military uniform at his residence on Wednesday evening at 11pm.

Later in the afternoon of 7th March, 2025, news went out that some men in military uniform were at the residence of Mr. Wise Adiabo again, around 4-5pm. However, in the absence of Mr. Wise Adiabo, his sister; Vivian Adiabo was the victim of verbal assault from one man who was with the men in uniform; alleged to be Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome. This was later confirmed by one Chief, Togbe Abordor VIII.

Agave Traditional Council

On October 9th, 2024, the Agave Traditional Council was inaugurated at Dabala in the South Tongu District.

Ever since its inauguration the Council has not been functional due to several litigations and the allegations levelled against the Paramountcy.

The signs were evident from the day of inauguration of the Traditional Council when the Registrar at the Volta Regional House Of Chiefs, Mr. Attipoe who was present on the day hinted at the ongoing challenges;

“We are not here today to sit over any chieftaincy matters. Neither are we here to adjudicate matters within the Traditional Council” he said.

Front runners in the establishment of the Traditional Council which includes the Woyomes may be disconcerted with the current development in the state following remarks from the day of the Council’s inauguration.

“This should have happened 75 years ago. Agave is a matured state. 1953 is when the Council building was built. Work began in 1945 but there was a little challenge and that challenge was what delayed this establishment leaving us behind others in this district” Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome remarked on the day of the inauguration.

His brother, who is the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tongu South, Mr Kwabena Mensah Woyome, expressed excitement for the ‘rebirth of the Agave state’.

“It has been our dream to establish a Traditional Council and today it has been fulfilled. I pray us to move in one spirit, with one mind for us to be able to propel the development of the Agave state. Today should be the beginning to the end of all litigation. This rebirth will bring to us a lot of development”.

Even though the former MP made an appeal on that day for all litigations on-going in Agave State to end. They seem to have attracted some disaffection from a faction of the state.

As far back as 12th July, 2015 the former MP proposed an out-of-court settlement regarding a suit *NO: VRP.4/2013* regarding an injunction application against Mr. Prince Koffi Adiabo. However, that did not materialise.

Later in 2016 a letter was addressed to the then Minister of Chieftaincy And Traditional Affairs signed by the then MP to assist in resolving a chieftaincy conflict to make way for the installation and outdooring of a Chief, Prince Koffi Adiabo who had allegedly been installed and outdoored in 2012.

Fast forward to 16th October, 2021 another ceremony was held at Dabala at the residence of Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome for the installation and outdooring of Mr. Prince Koffi Adiabo (also known as Edward Agbeti or Togbega Xedihor Hlitabo IV).

This event was vehemently rejected by some Chiefs including Togbe Abordor VIII which nearly resulted in a civil unrest for the Agave State. There is another suit of Contempt of Court pending at the Sogakope High Court regarding the event which took place at the residence of Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

In a twist of events just after the emergency meeting was held on 7th March, 2025, the Chiefs of Agave were invited by the DISEC at Sogakope to discuss security concerns surrounding Chieftaincy matters in Agave 11th March, 2025; only for them to be asked to report themselves, plus a tall list of people both dead and alive to the Ho Police Regional Headquarters over what happened on 16th October, 2021.

The Chiefs have expressed disappointment in how a few people are holding the whole of Agave to ransom and using the State security against them just for the crime that they are only looking to have a leader for themselves, an exercise which has been hanging for over a decade and half.

All these events beg the questions;

1- ‘Is the Agave Youth Council justified to ask that the Divisional Wing Chiefs of the Agave Traditional Council take action against *… All individuals involved in the illegal installation, imposition, and gazetting of the Paramount Chief, as well as any attempts to hijack the Agave State, must be banished. This includes, but is not limited to, the Woyome Anlo-Whuti family.*?

2- How did the name Prince Koffi Adiabo transition into Edward Allan Agbeti to Togbega Xedihor Hlitabo IV?

3- Where does the Agave Traditional Council go from here?