Akufo-Addo pays courtesy call on Dagbon royal gates
The Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has paid a historic visit to the Gbewaa Palace at Yendi, the seat of the Dagbon Traditional Area, to pay a courtesy call on the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Abdualai Yakubu Andani, to foster a spirit of reconciliation and unity in the Dagbon State.
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Nana Akufo-Addo also paid a similar visit to the Regent of the Abudu Royal Gate, Bolin-Lana Abdulai Mahamadu, at his palace in Yendi as part of his tour of the Northern Region.
The visit by Nana Akufo-Addo to the two royal gates in Yendi provided an opportunity for the two sides of the chieftaincy divide, who have never visited either side of the divide (the Kampakuya-Naa or the Bolin-Lana), to change position.
Nana Akufo-Addo’s historic visit marked the turning point in his desire to unite the chiefs and people of the Dagbon Traditional Area.
A large crowd from both sides of the chieftaincy divide in Yendi accompanied Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage to both palaces amid drumming and dancing.
Nana Akufo–Addo’s visit to the two opposing palaces, according to some residents of the area, has dispelled widespread rumours by his political detractors that he sides with the Abudu royals in Dagbon.
Reconciliation and unity
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, he had no business in meddling with the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and called for reconciliation and unity in the once vibrant Dagbon Kingdom.
“I am going to be a father for all in Ghana and I have no business siding with either Abudus or Andanis in Dagbon. My major priority is to develop Ghana for the benefit of all,” he stated.
Nana Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged the people to have confidence in him to help reconcile them to enable Dagbon to recapture its past glory.
The NPP presidential candidate noted that national cohesion remained his major priority and promised to renew the long-standing relationship between him and the Regent of Dagbon as the case was with the late Dagbon overlord Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani II.
Regent of Dagbon
Kampakuya-Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani called for a clean political campaign as the nation gears up for the 2016 general election.
He condemned the use of intemperate language on the airwaves and called for ceasefire to sustain the nation’s peace and stability before, during and after the election.
He prayed for a peaceful election and urged all the major stakeholders to play their roles effectively for Ghana to continue to be the oasis of peace in the sub-region.