By Anthony AdongoApubeo
Bawku (U/E), Jan 14, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has assured the chiefs and people of Bawku in the Upper East Region of his determination to ensure permanent peace in Bawku to drive socio-economic development.
“During the campaign, I stated that if God granted our desires and I was elected President, bringing peace to Bawku was going to be one of my number one priorities”, President Mahama stated during a visit to the Bawku Naba, ZugraanNabaAsigriAbugragoAzoka II, Overlord of Kusaug Traditional Area on Tuesday.
“So, today is exactly one week when I was sworn in at the Black Stars Square and it is my first major assignment outside Accra and I decided to come and assure you that we are going to work very hard to make sure that we bring peace back to Bawku”.
The visit formed part of President’s commitment to engaging the feuding factions and relevant stakeholders, aimed at resolving the protracted Bawku Chieftaincy conflict that had lasted for decades.
At least 40 people have lost their lives since the conflict re-emerged in October, 2024 and at least 240 lives have been lost since November, 2021.
Speaking to the residents in Bawku after a closed door meeting with the Bawku Naba, the President said Bawku was known for its peaceful atmosphere that supported economic activities and contributed to the country’s development.
He said during his time as President, Bawku and its surrounding areas were very peaceful and everyone went about their duties and pleadged to work to restore that lost glory.
“It is sad that the situation has occurred again and I know that for the last three years, you have not been able to sleep, you have been living under stress and so the priority of our government is to bring peace back to Bawku so that everybody can go about their duties without fear of harassment”, he stressed.
The President indicated that appointments to the various security ministries and agencies would be made this week to facilitate peace to the area and other conflict areas in the country.
“So within this week we will do the appointments of the Minister of Defence, Minister of the Interior, the National Security Advisor, the National Security Coordinator, the National Intelligence Bureau Director and all the others and when these appointments are made, I am going to charge them to make Bawku one of the number one priorities to attend to and deal with,” he indicated.
President Mahama said he was abreast with the issues in Bawku and the adverse effects on livelihoods and appealed to the chiefs and people of the area to be patient as the government worked to bring permanent peace back to the area.
“From here, we will be going to the Nayiri to deliver a message to him. We cannot live in a country where our people do not feel safe, our people must feel safe to travel to whenever they want and at whatever time and not have people shooting at them and so you can be sure that we will deal with these situations so that we all can have the peace we need in order that our traditional areas can progress “, he added.
The Bawku Naba expressed gratitude to the President for the visit and added that the move signified the importance the President attached to the area and the security situation in the area.
He assured the President of his support and that of his subjects to the roadmap to attaining sustainable and lasting peace and drive development of the area.
The President was accompanied by Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, Acting Spokesperson to the President and Mr Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central Constituency.
The President would later pay a similar visit to the Nayiri, Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga, Overlord of Mamprugu in Nalerigu in the North East Region.
GNA