Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu says the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will challenge government’s intention to create new regions.

He explains that the Minority NDC Legislators in Parliament see the creation of the new regions from the existing ones as constitutionally wrong.

The comments by Mr Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South, come on the back of agitations by some citizens against the creation of the regions.

Some residents in the Volta Region have been particularly against the creation of Oti Region. There have also been agitations against the demarcation of the Northern region.

The government says the creation of the regions from the existing one will promote local governance and boost development, a position some traditional leaders in the northern part of the Volta Region, for instance, back.

Addressing delegates at the just ended NDC’s Women and Youth Conference in the Central Region, the Minority Leader said that although the opposition party was not opposed to the creation of the regions in principle, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s interpretation of the law on the demarcation of regions is inaccurate and must be challenged.

“Ghana under Article 4 of the Constitution is made up of ten regions and you [government] are coming to demarcate or divide those ten regions into five additional ones like [a] paper. So when you divide this paper into two, which one is affected…the NPP’s narrow definition of the Constitutional Law is that affected areas is some small section of that region. That is constitutionally wrong and we will challenge it constitutionally,” he told party members in the Central Region.

Meanwhile, despite the opposition by the NDC and the Asogli State to the creation of the new regions, some interest groups are backing government firmly over the move.

 The traditional leaders in the northern part of the Volta Region, have vowed to use all means to resist attempts by the opposing factions to the creation of the Oti Region which will be carved out of the Volta Region.

As the December 27 date for a referendum on the creation of the new region draws near, the pro-Oti Region traditional leaders have intensified activities, including door-to-door campaigns and community gatherings, to get residents to vote YES for the creation of Oti Region.