Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is complicit in the Bawku conflict, Dr. Robert Kuganab-Lem, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Binduri Constituency in the Upper East Region, said here Thursday.
The MP is alleging that the Vice President has sat back to watch unconcerned while the Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom, Nayiri, Naa Bohugu Mahama Abdulai II, has enskinned what he describes as an “imposter,” Bawku Naba, when there was already one in office.
Dr. Kuganab-Lem observes Dr. Bawumia is a grandson of the Nayiri and must be aware of the illegality of the Nayiri and that he cannot lead the country per his posture in the Bawku conflict.
“We are accusing him because he is a grandson of the Nayiri, and for the Nayiri to enskin an imposter, we expected him not to be quiet over it.” “If trouble is brewing in his backyard, he cannot lead this nation as he is seeking to do; he has failed,” the former legislator said.
According to the former Binduri MP, Vice President Bawumia’s failure to condemn the act by the Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom makes him complicit in the conflict.
“If Dr. Bawumia is going to contest the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearership position, he needs the blessings of the Nayiri.” “He is from the Nayiri, and if the Nayiri should enskin an “imposter,” he must be aware,” he added.
Dr. Kuganab-Lem wants the Vice President to come out openly by asking the Nayiri to disclose the “imposter” Bawku Naba and subsequently denouncing the action.
“The Vice President should ask the Nayiri to disclose the “imposter,” Bawku Naba, and then denounce the “imposter,” otherwise he, Dr. Bawumia, is an accomplice in the illegality,” the former MP added.
He also urged northerners in positions of power in the country to use their influence to bring their people together and find productive jobs for their brothers and sisters in order to combat poverty, ignorance, and disease.
The Bawku township has been a hotspot for chieftaincy clashes for some time now, thereby affecting the peace in the area.
On the morning of Wednesday, February 15, the Mamprusi faction of the protracted Bawku conflict was at the palace of the Overlord of Mamprugu (Nayiri), Naa Bohugu Mahama Abdulai II, for the enskinment of a new Bawku Naba, despite the recognition of Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II by the government and the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs as the legitimate ruler of the area.
The appointment of the Nayiri-skinned Seidu Abagre Kulugu as Chief of the Bawku traditional area has raised concerns about a possible escalation of the conflict in the area.
The action of the Nayiri, who is the kingmaker for Mamprugu, Bawku, and other areas in the Upper East Region, is considered a disregard for the current Bawku Naba and could lead to more bloody clashes in the conflict-prone town.
Meanwhile, the government has condemned the development in Nalerigu on Wednesday concerning the purported enskinment of a new Bawku Naba.
In a press statement signed and issued by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the government described the purported enskinment as “illegal and a threat to national security.”
“The government further reiterates that Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II is the Bawku Naba, duly gazetted, and a member of the National and Upper East Regional Houses of Chiefs,” the government statement said. Enditem
