Bawku Central MP apologises to angry youth over boycott by Mahama

Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has revealed that the ongoing conflict in Bawku prevented his party’s presidential candidate, John Mahama, from visiting the town during his regional tour. According to Ayariga, security experts advised NDC’s John Mahama to avoid the conflict zone to ensure the safety of his entourage and the residents who wished to follow his team.

Speaking on Woezor TV on Saturday, 3 August 2024, the MP apologised to the irate youth who subsequently went on a rampage.

“Even yesterday, John Dramani Mahama could not drive through the town. If you noticed, we had to bypass the town because many of the youth wanted to follow him on the tour, and he could not drive through the town with them for fear that anything could happen to anybody,” he explained.

Ayariga further elaborated that the security situation was not promising, and they did not want to trigger any incidents.

“The same way my uncle had difficulties attending the rally and so they demanded that John Dramani Mahama should come to them and yet the security situation was not promising, and everybody was growing cold feet. We didn’t want to trigger anything and so when we decided not to pass through the town, you noticed that yesterday they were very bitter, and posters of mine and John Mahama were being burnt. It was because of the security situation and the fact that security experts advised us not to take the risk. It is painful and it hurts,” he emphasised.

His comments came after videos went viral showing NDC youth in Natinga burning party paraphernalia, including posters of the parliamentary candidate and the presidential candidate. Sources indicated that the youth were displeased with the inability of the NDC flagbearer to visit the residence of the Chief of Bawku and other traditional leaders.

Apologising for this oversight, Ayariga also mentioned that the entourage had to deal with time constraints and further assured the youth that Mr Mahama would visit the town during his campaign across the country.

“We had done four stops even though we were allocated two and had far exceeded the time allotted to Bawku,” he added.

“We appreciate the love for the party and desire to host the flagbearer. I wish to assure them that this is just the beginning of the campaign. The flagbearer, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, will surely visit Natinga in due course,” he concluded.

The Bawku area has been plagued by a recurring chieftaincy dispute, marked by violent clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. The conflict has also resulted in the destruction of properties worth millions of Ghanaian cedis. The core of the dispute revolves around the rightful ownership of the Bawku skin, known as na’am. As of April 2024, the violence had led to 10 additional deaths and the shutdown of four local radio stations.