Upper West MMDCEs Confirmations: 4 confirmed, 1 rejected

As the confirmation process for Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) nominees continues across the eleven districts of the Upper West Region, four nominees have successfully secured approval, while one has faced outright rejection. The confirmation exercise, which commenced on April 16th, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude on April 28th, 2025, has yielded the following results thus far:

MMDCEs Nominees Confirmed:

Alhaji Nurah Issah Danwana – Wa Metropolis Mayor: Secured an impressive 100% confirmation rate.

Peter N. N N-Tong – Jirapa MCE: Confirmed with 80.77% of the votes, following an initial rejection.

Richard Wullo – Wa West: Achieved a 100% confirmation rate.

Adamu Yakubu – Sissala East: Confirmed with a strong 96% of the votes.

DCE Nominee Rejected:

Adamu Sayibu – Wa East: Was outrightly rejected after garnering only 13 “Yes” votes against 23 “No” votes.

Reasons for Rejection in Wa East:

The rejection of Adamu Sayibu in the Wa East District is reportedly linked to established traditional appointment practices within the district. Historically, there has been an unwritten understanding regarding the origin of the DCE nominee based on the sitting Member of Parliament (MP).

According to these reports, when the MP hails from the Waala or Dagaaba ethnic groups, the expectation is that the DCE nominee should be from the Sisaala community to ensure a balance of power and representation for all groups within the district.

With the current MP representing the Waala and Dagaaba, it was widely anticipated that the DCE nominee would be from the Sisaala side. However, Mr. Sayibu also comes from the Waala community, a deviation from this long-standing practice. This is said to have caused significant dissatisfaction, particularly among the Sisaala community, ultimately leading to his rejection by the assembly members.

With the Regional Coordinating Council paused confirmation exercise for easter break to resume on 22nd April with the confirmation processes for the other six districts will be closely watched to see if any further nominees face similar challenges or secure their approval.