NDC MPs And Dagbon Leaders Disagree On Kufuor's Visit

The NDC caucus in Parliament has asked Information Minister, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey to advise the President to rectify what it described as a grave omission and proceed to Yendi to lighten the burden of bereavement. The Minority group said in a statement that it is increasingly becoming clear at the Wuaku Commission that the Yendi incident is the worst security blunder in the country's history and the President’s visit will assuage the feelings of the bereaved family.

According to them, while in the North, President Kufuor might as well visit Bawku, where almost 60 people were killed in a recent chieftaincy conflict.

The statement was in reaction to an earlier one by the Information Minister after the minority criticised the President for failing to visit Yendi since the assassination of the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II.

“When it comes to protocol and tradition it (the NDC) has nothing to learn from the NPP (New Patriotic Party) Government or President Kufuor. The NPP Government's track record in respect to protocol and tradition was abysmal and cannot serve as a role model to be emulated by anybody".

The Minority among other things "recalled the poor handling of the inauguration ceremony of President Kufuor at the Independence Square, which caused a major security scare for visiting heads of state". The release said, "the premature announcement of the death of the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, which breached all tenets of tradition and could potentially have led to carnage in the Dagbon Traditional Area".

The group holds the view that the Minister of Information is so engrossed in spinning government information that "he neglects to give the President basic counsel to visit the crisis areas as a matter of urgency".

But some opinion leaders from the Dagbon area say it would be unwise for the President to visit Yendi and it’s environ now, because of security reasons. They told JOYFM that though the security situation is calm, there is still a lot of resentment against some leading members in the government, which could pose security threats to the President entourage.