Government to Restore Gbewaa Palace

The Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Ayim has announced that government is to assist to restore the Gbewaa Palace, the seat of the Dagbon Traditional Area which was set ablaze during the mayhem in Yendi.

Briefing the media on the current situation at Yendi in Accra last Friday, Mr. Ayim said reports emanating from Yendi, Tamale and its environs indicate that calm and peace has been restored. There has been no report of curfew infringement, which according to him is an indication of the commitment of the people to return from a state of emergency to a state of normalcy.

In this regard, the Special Assistant said the Army Commander, Major Clayton D. Yaache who was overseeing the general operations of the town has since returned to Accra and the Commander of the Northern Sector of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Brig. George Ayiku would take over affairs.

Mr. Ayim said government would not harbour anybody found guilty of involvement in the heinous crimes adding that the perpetrators would be vigorously brought to book.

He assured that the joint military-police patrol team in Yendi is in full control of affairs. He said the three eminent chiefs, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Nayiri Gamni Muhammadu, paramount chief of the Mamprugu Traditional Area and the Yagbon-Wura, Bawa Dashie II, paramount Chief of the Gonja Traditional Area, making up the mediation team, have since left to their various kingdoms and have drawn a timetable to resolve the crisis.

Mr. Ayim expressed gratitude to the media for expressing high sense of maturity in their reportage pertaining to the Yendi crisis as well as abiding by the vetting procedure.

An official at the Ministry of Communication and Presidential Affairs, Nana Ohene Ntow appealed to the media to exhibit a high sense of professionalism when dealing with sensitive issues such as the Yendi crisis because any abysmal report could exacerbate tension in the area and the country as a whole.

A six week state of emergency has been declared by the President, John Agyekum Kufuor in the Dagbon traditional area following the recent chaos in Yendi which led to the assassination of the Ya Na, Yakubu Andani II and some forty others.