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BARELY 24 hours after the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo announced the creation of 42 new districts, pressure is mounting in the newly-created North Tongu District as majority of residents have rejected Battor as the capital. On Friday, chiefs of four of the six traditional areas that make up the new North Tongu District held a press conference at Juapong, and issued a statement to register their displeasure with what they described as the wrongful placement of the district capital at Battor. The four traditional areas are Volo, Dofor, Torgorme and Fodzoku. The other two are Battor and Mepe which are on the other side of the Volta River. According to them, Battor did not represent the wish of the majority of the people in the new district who had for a long time called for the district to be sited in Juapong which lay along the Eastern Corridor Road and had the population, vibrant economic activities and amenities to speed up development in the district. The chiefs- Togbe Kwaku Abliza IV of Volo, Togbe Adela Anaze Titriku XII, Dorfor, Togbe Asamoah Nkwanta VI, Torgorme and Togbe Afum Asare III of Fodzoku- alleged that regional minister, Joseph Amenowode and the Roads and Transport Minister, Joe Gidisu and other elements in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) were the conspirators of �this wrongful and unsuitable siting of Battor as District Capital�. They also accused Deputy Information Minister Okudzeto Ablakwa, the North Tongu (now Central Tongu) DCE, Alhaji Bubey Dzinadu, former NDC Regional Organiser, Francis Doe, Gideon Quarcoe, the Constituency NDC Chairman, Michael Ladzaglah and some chiefs from Mepe and Battor. The chiefs, who claimed their traditional areas put together formed about eighty percent of the newly-created North Tongu District, vowed to resist and not recognise Battor as their capital, calling on government to create an autonomous district for them, with Juapong as the capital. �If government is not ready to listen to our petition for an autonomous district, the existing North Tongu Constituency must be split into two by way of separating Mepe and Battor from the majority traditional areas of Volo, Dofor, Torgorme and Fodzoku,� they stressed. They also explained that the siting of Battor as the capital was unconstitutional since Juapong was recognised as the constituency headquarters and therefore merited a district capital. The statement read, �The Local Government Act 462 and 1992 constitution stated clearly that where a constituency headquarters is located, in the event of that constituency being developed into a district, the constituency headquarters becomes the district capital.� According to them, the capital of the new district had been imposed on them even though Juapong qualified as it had about 26 basic and junior high schools, two senior high schools and other early childhood centres. They said there were four government clinics and one private clinic which were close to the VRA Hospital at Akosombo and Peki Government Hospital. They also claimed Juapong had been granted district police command status. The chiefs noted that the area also had a hotel and lodge. Industrially, the area can boast of the Volta Star textile company, a milk factory and VEGPRO commercial farm, the largest vegetable farm in Africa. The chiefs also listed a viable fishing industry, and resources like fibre deposits, oyster shells, river sand for building, granite, the Volta River, a game reserve, abundant land among others that could be developed to boost the economy of the area when it became a district. They also mentioned the existence of an agricultural bank and two rural banks, and a busy and high revenue generating market. They said the population of the four traditional areas was about 70, 000 with a voter population of about 64,000. With these facts, the four chiefs said, the only reason why the �minority�, thus Mepe and Battor, would be chosen over them was due to misrepresentation of facts and an unfair assessment of facilities in the area. They said as far as they were concerned, they could survive without Mepe and Battor and would therefore not accept the declaration by Mr Ofosu Ampofu. When Mr Ofosu Ampofu was contacted, he said due process was followed in making Battor the capital of the new North Tongu district, as the regional minister and the chiefs and opinion leaders in all the six traditional areas held meetings and consultations over it. He said other factors like security, geographical location and other factors were considered in creating the new districts, adding that petitions and other concerns were welcomed by his ministry. The regional minster, Joseph Amenowode, noted that the decision of district capital was not in his jurisdiction and that the Ministry of the Local Government and Rural Development was mandated to do that. He said, �My opinion does not count in deciding who should become the district capital. All concerns raised were looked at by the local government ministry�I have not met any of the people being mentioned in the allegations.� He noted that such misunderstandings were normal and that it was people�s right to make their views known. He pledged his support and commitment to ensure that all problems arising from the creation of the new districts in the Volta Region would be addressed to ensure peace. Last Friday, the chiefs and people of Denkyira in the newly-created Heman Lower Denkyira district in the Central region kicked against the selection of Heyman as the capital of the new district, threatening not to be part of the district.