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Minority Accused Gov’t Officials Of Meddling In Bimbilla Chieftaincy Issues

By CitiFMonline
Politics Minority Accused Govt Officials Of Meddling In Bimbilla Chieftaincy Issues
OCT 11, 2017 LISTEN

The Minority in Parliament has called on President Akufo-Addo, to call officials of his government who have allegedly been interfering in the Bimbilla chieftaincy dispute, to order.

According to the Minority, despite the President's directive for his appointees not to get involved in the dispute, there have been claims that some members of the administration have tried to influence the matter.

Speaking at a Press conference on Wednesday, Minority Spokesperson on Defence and Interior, James Agalga, called on the President to call his appointees to order, as their interference could affect the peace in the area ahead of the burial of Nakpaa-Naa Salifu Dawuni.

“It is worthy of note that, the Nakpaa-Naa Salifu Dawuni, is the subject of a pending appeal launched by the same family in the Supreme Court. Information available to us indicates that, many people are fleeing from Bimbilla when news broke that the late Nakpaa-Naa's remains are on its way to Bimbilla for burial tomorrow [Thursday]. Only last week, the President admonished his appointees to desist from interfering in Chieftaincy matters, and that such matters be left to the traditional authorities. What has become of the President's admonition?” he queried.

“It's against this backdrop that we want to call on the President to walk the talk by ensuring that the chieftaincy dispute in Bimbilla is resolved devoid of political interference. It's especially important that the status quo relative to the Chieftaincy of Bimbilla, is preserved pending the outcome of the litigation in the Supreme Court. We call on the people of Bimbilla to exercise restraint, and use all the legitimate and legal means to vindicate their rights so that the peace will continue to reign in Bimbilla for the collective good of the area.”

Speaking to Citi News’ Duke Mensah-Opoku after the press conference, a former deputy Interior Minister, Jame Agalga, stated that until the Supreme Court rules on the matter, any attempt by political figures to influence the matter could worsen the already tense situation in the area.

“At the press conference of the family of the acting Bimbilla-Naa in Accra today on the troubling situation, the names of some political functionaries were mentioned. They mentioned a number of names and alluded to political interference. We cannot independently confirm that. It's important that the Supreme Court is allowed to deal with the matter. The issue about whether the Nakpaa-Naa was legitimately installed as the Bimbilla-Naa, is yet to be determined by the Supreme Court. If we resort to conducts which could prejudice the outcome of the Supreme Court's decision, the peace of the area could be undermined,” Agalga added.

“Bimbilla is a flash-point, so we think that government must tread cautiously by not meddling in these things and allow the institutions of state to come out with its ruling so that as a government we can put steps in place to ensure that the decision of the Supreme Court is respected by all.”

‘Tensions in Bimbilla’
Tensions in Bimbilla are reportedly running high ahead of the burial of the late Nakpaa-Naa October 12, 2017.

Scores of military and police personnel left Tamale today (Wednesday) for Bimbilla, to augment the operations of the team there. This is to avert any untoward situation in the area following the upcoming burial of the late chief.

The late Nakpaa-Naa Salifu Dawuni died on 5th March 2014, and his remains have been deposited at the Yendi hospital morgue.


By: Edwin Kwakofi & Duke Mensah-Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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