I will support Dagbon peace impartially – John Mahama

The 2020 Presidential Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has assured the people of Dagbon that the NDC, when voted into power, will support all relevant stakeholders within the Dagbon Peace Project impartially in order to consolidate the peace of the area.

According to him, the current administration lacks the will power to address the impunity prevailing in Dagbon which has far reaching implications on the relative peace in the Dagbon Traditional Area.

The former President was speaking at two separate events at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi and the Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V’s Palace at Nanton Zuo at the weekend, during his two day Thank-You Tour of the Northern region.

Speaking at the instance of the Ya-Na, the former President spoke philosophically by indicating that his government will not give the Ya-Na a cow in front of the whole world and go back to hold its tale on the other end.

He therefore assured the overlord of Dagbon that the future NDC government will lend the entire people of Dagbon its full and impartial support to ensure genuine peace and rapid development of the area.

The former President, while addressing the Chiefs and people of Nanton at the Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V’s Palace at Nanton-Zuo, consoled the Nanton-Naa for his predicaments, describing him as a political victim.

According to him, the Nanton-Naa is not supported by the government to assume his rightful traditional role in Nanton town because of his perceived membership of the NDC.

He bemoaned the practice where governments excessively interfere in chieftaincy matters and encourage people who lack the requisite qualification to hold themselves up as Chiefs, without being appointed by the rightful appointing authority.

“You are being treated this way because of NDC, but the fact is that the truth will always triumph over falsehood,” he said. The former President predicted that God would intervene at the right time, for Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V to get home peacefully to Nanton township to continue his reign.

Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V thanked the former President and his entourage for making the time to visit him.

He assured the former President that as law-abiding people he and his chiefs will continue to respect the relative peace of Dagbon irrespective of provocations by his detractors.

Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V expressed surprise at the level of impunity by some people in Dagbon despite government assurances to unite them.

Background

Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V, a former Council of State member under the NDC was enskinned as the Chief of Nanton by Ya-Na Abukari II, King and Overload of Dagbon, in March 2019.

But one former Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, who was also enskinned by the Ya-Na as the Chief of Zoosali, Alhaji Haruna Tia Sulemana, hurriedly went and occupied the Nanton Skin.

This created serious security threats to the fragile Dagbon Peace Project and many analysts familiar with the matter cited the former role of Nanton-Naa Mahamadu V as member of the Council of State under the previous NDC regime as the reason the current government is lackadaisical in addressing the issue, despite the impunity and blatant infraction of the law and the chieftaincy act by the NPP’s former Chairman, Alhaji Haruna Tia Sulemana.

According to analysts, the Nanton issue will reverse the gains in Dagbon as the impunity is encouraging other areas to join that bandwagon. Karaga is another town being usurped by one Sumani Mahama a.k.a Alizini as the Chief, while the legitimately enskinned Chief is also residing out of residence.

These acts of lawlessness by both the Zoosali-Lana and Alizini which are subtly eating into the Dagbon Peace Project with far reaching consequences in the future are alleged to have strong political backing at the Presidency.

Whiles the Member of Parliament (MP) for Karaga, Honourable Dr. Amin Adam Anta is alleged to be protecting Sumani Mahama (a.k.a Alizini) against arrest and prosecution for breaching the Chieftaincy Act and Public Order Act, its alleged that the younger sister of Zoosali-Lana, one Clara Napaga Tia who is the Co-ordinator of Special Projects Initiative at the Presidency is shielding his elder brother from facing the law.

For how long will these acts of impunity continue by some members of President Akufo-Addo’s government in Dagbon? Meanwhile, spin doctors of the government are trumpeting the rooftop of the Dagbon Peace Project as their achievement?