Campaign to include Chereponi in proposed region receives boost

The campaign for the inclusion of the Chereponi District in the proposed North East Region has received a major boost, as a campaign group has been inaugurated to galvanise support for the inclusion of Chereponi and the ultimate creation of the proposed new region.

Codenamed "Advocacy Group for North East Region", the group, comprising the youth and aged, is expected to begin a vigorous campaign and sensitisation across the length and breadth of Chereponi to ensure a massive turnout on the day of the referendum to endorse the yet-to-be created region.

The launch of the campaign group comes barley three weeks after the Dagbon Traditional Council (DTC) rejected a special request by the Overlord of Mamprugu, Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga, for the inclusion of Chereponi in the new region.

Inauguration

Speaking at the inauguration of the group last Saturday, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Chereponi, Mr Abdul-Razak Tahidu, emphasised that the campaign for the inclusion of Chereponi was purposely to ensure the rapid development and facelift of the district.

He observed that the poor road network and the lack of other social amenities in the district would be a thing of the past if the district was engraved in the proposed North East Region as adequate resources would be allocated by the central government to develop the area.

He said the campaign for the inclusion of Chereponi in the North East Region has nothing to do with tribal, ethnicity or political affiliations but to enable development to thrive, stressing that, " It will not jeopardise the traditional and chieftaincy settings of Dagbon as alleged by the Dagbon Traditional Council”.

”People are in the Volta Region and they go to Ashanti Region for enstoolment. We have people in Brong Ahafo Region yet they still go to Ashanti Region for enstoolment and it is only three districts in the Upper East that do not come to Nalerigu (Nayiri) for enskinment, even people in Burkina Faso still come to Nayiri and they are all developing so Chereponi can be part of North East but will always go to Yendi for enskinment and pay homage to Dagbon,” he added.

Security

Mr Tahidu assured the public that adequate security measures had been put in place to ensure a peaceful democratic process that would lead to the annexation of Chereponi in the yet-to-be carved out North East Region.

He, therefore, appealed to residents of the area to conduct themselves peacefully and campaign for the inclusion of Chereponi in the proposed new region.

Support

For his part, the President of the advocacy group, Mr Jejite Amos, who is the Assembly Member for the Garinkuka Electoral Area, urged the residents to support the agenda to ensure rapid development of the Chereponi District.

He said his team would embark on a door-to-door campaign with the message of peace and the endorsement of the proposed new region.

Background

Since the announcement of the proposed regions was made, the chiefs of Dagbon, particularly Chereponi, have raised issues with the inclusion of Chereponi in the North East Region.