Nana Addo’s statement on Dagbon criminal

Mr Cletus Avoka, Minister for Interior, has criticized recent public comments on the Dagbon crisis by Nana Akufo-Addo as criminal.

The defeated 2008 presidential candidate of the NPP told teeming supporters at a press conference on Tuesday that the ruling NDC government had taken sides in the conflict, saying the development could make the conflict even more difficult to resolve.

But the Interior Minister said Nana Addo’s utterances could rather incite violence in the area and accused him of trying to cover up the poor handling of the unfortunate episode by the then NPP-led government.

“What my good friend Akufo-Addo did amounts to inciting the public and that is a criminal offence,” Mr Avoka stated.

The Interior Minister was addressing Mamprusi and Kussasi tribal leaders who had paid a courtesy call on President Atta Mills in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

President Mills is on four-day familiarization visit to the Upper West and East Regions.

Mr Avoka recounted: “Is it the murder of Ya Na and 40 others, is it the murder of Alhaji Issa Mobila without any provocation, is it the burning of houses in Gushiegu without any arrest, are these the factors that are causing tension in the Northern Region or Dagbon? Or rehabilitating a palace for the benefit of the use of the people? …You should call a spade but don’t give a dog a bad name to hung it.’

Mr Avoka appealed to fellow politicians to do their best to give peace in Dagbon a chance.

Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com