President John Dramani Mahama has urged all factions in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute to tolerate each other so as to pave way for peace to prevail at the Asantehene�s palace as he (Asantehene) endeavours to put things together to end the protracted dispute in the area.
He made the appeal in an address to celebrants at this year�s Damba celebration in Yendi.
The president commended an initiative by both the Abudus and the Andanis to celebrate the Damba festival together last year and this year and urged them to keep it up, noting that it was in unity they could develop the north.
He lauded in particular all chiefs and traditional leaders in the Dagbon traditional area for their massive attendance of the event in Yendi, but expressed regret that Dagbon had over the years witnessed some unpleasant events which he stated had affected development.
He urged residents to help promote peace in the region, reaffirming that it was only a peaceful environment that development could spring up, appealing to the feuding factions to eschew violence of all forms and be tolerant with each other.
According to him, since assuming office as the president, it had been his resolve to bring the two factions in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute together and promised to achieve it before retiring as the president of the country.
It is in this light he stated, that the theme for this year�s Damba festival - �Taking inspiration from our common heritage and culture in the struggle for peace and development� - is appropriate in fostering national unity and cohesion.
President Mahama said the theme for the celebration was a clarion call for everybody to ensure peace in Dagbon which in his view, is a major prerequisite
for development, and appealed to all to put their hands on deck.
He was later enskinned as Yendi Zoo-Maligu Naa by the regent of Dagbon and the acting president of the Dagbon Traditional Council, Kampakuya-Naa Andani Yakubu Abdulai.
Meanwhile, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, would by the close of this month conclude work on outstanding traditional and customary issues involving the factions in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute as part of the peace process.
The occupant of the Asantehene chaired the mediation processes between the Abudus and the Andanis following recurring conflict over who is the rightful heir to the Naya skin.
He was tasked by former President John Agyekum Kufuor to lead the process in ensuring that lasting peace prevailed between the two families in the wake of the murder of the late Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani II.
<<Print>>