MP and MCE Supporters Clash at Nsawam School as Roofing Dispute Turns Political
What began as an emergency response to storm damage at a school has spiralled into a politically charged standoff in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality of the Eastern Region, after supporters of the area’s Member of Parliament and the Municipal Chief Executive came to blows at the repair site.
The trouble started after a rainstorm on Thursday evening tore off sections of the roofing at Nsawam Presbyterian School, leaving classrooms exposed to the elements and raising urgent concerns about the safety of pupils and teachers — particularly with more rainfall forecast in the coming days.
Member of Parliament Frank Annoh-Dompreh, who was away from the constituency at the time, responded to the emergency by directing former Municipal Chief Executives and party executives to assess the damage and get repair works underway.
Contractors linked to his office were subsequently mobilised and began rehabilitation work on the affected structures.
The situation took a sharp turn on Saturday morning when Municipal Chief Executive Fummey Selorm Philibert arrived at the scene and moved to stop the works, instructing education authorities not to permit the MP’s contractors to continue.
The MCE’s intervention was rooted in the position that the Municipal Assembly holds authority over all official works on public infrastructure within its jurisdiction — a view that clashed directly with the urgency-driven approach of the MP’s camp.
What followed was a heated and chaotic confrontation between supporters of both sides, with eyewitnesses describing an exchange of words that escalated into allegations of physical altercations. Officers from the Ghana Police Service were eventually called in to restore order at the school premises.
In an unusual turn, the dispute did not result in works being halted entirely. Instead, contractors associated with both the MP’s office and the Municipal Assembly ended up working simultaneously on different sections of the damaged structure — an awkward overlap that underscored just how entangled the political rivalry had become with what was originally a straightforward emergency repair.
The incident has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the jurisdictional tensions that can arise between elected representatives and local government authorities, particularly when public infrastructure requires urgent attention.
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