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17.03.2012 Politics

Naa Andani Dasana Declared Paramount Chief For Bimbilla

17.03.2012 LISTEN
By Zakaria Alhassan - Daily Graphic

The Judicial Committee of the Northern Region House of Chiefs has unanimously declared Naa Andani Dasana as the substantive Paramount Chief for the Bimbilla Traditional Area.

The ruling comes after nine years of protracted chieftaincy dispute in the area over the rightful occupant of the skin after the performance of the last funeral rites of the late Bimbilla Naa Abarika in 2003.

The House also awarded a cost of GHc1000 cedis to the defendants, Naa Andani Dasana and Azumah Nantogma against the petitioners; Naa Salifu Dawuni and the Juo Regent, Osman Mahama.

The ruling, which was made at the House of Chiefs in Tamale last Tuesday, was witnessed by a large crowd of sympathisers from both factions and the general public.

The three-member committee that was chaired by the Yunyoo Rana Yamyia Tooka II indicated that, “the processes have been gone through before, during and after the nomination, election, enskinment and installation of Naa Dasana as customarily, legally, morally and democratically valid and right.”

The committee, therefore, declared Naa Dasana “as the lawfully enskinned Bimbilla Naa.”

The committee further described the petitioners’ case in respect of the various issues, especially the inconsistencies and conflicts in their pieces of evidence, as weak, as against the formidable case presented by the defendants.

“We hereby refuse to grant the petitioners’ reliefs they are seeking from the committee as the petitioners’ are not entitled to any of the said reliefs,” the committee added.

The other members of the committee were Bolewura Amankwa Seidu Gbeadesi and the Wasipewura Mumuni Yakubu Kabasa Yaya II. The committee was assisted by a counsel, Mr Solomon Atadzi.

Later in an interview with the “Daily Graphic” Naa Dasana described the outcome of the committee’s work as a victory for the entire citizenry of Nanung, who he said had unduly suffered the repercussions of living without a substantive chief for the past nine years.

“Even though there had been some pockets of disturbances at some stages during those difficult periods, at least, we did not take to arms in our quest for justice for which reason the people must be commended for their steadfastness,” he indicated.

The chief entreated the people from both chieftaincy divide to put the past behind them and rather rally behind the traditional council to fashion laudable programmes that could fast track the socio-economic development of the area that lacked in basic infrastructure.

According to him, the Bimbilla districts abounded in arable land, which when put to use, could turn the area into the food basket of the country. He, therefore, challenged the youth to gird their loins and till the land since they could benefit enormously from farming.

He, however, appealed to the government and other stakeholders to turn their attention to the area by supporting them in their farming ventures.

The chief expressed opinion that apart from making funds available, the people could also be provided with implements and machinery for mechanised farming.

Naa Dasana, who is a post harvest technologist in rice farming, has been in that business for over thirty years now.

Until his enskinment, he also worked as an engineer with the Nasia Rice Company in Tamale where his expertise is still sought whenever there is a breakdown of the machinery.

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