Abudus Question Mills’ Meeting With Andanis…Accuses Him Of Discrimination

Leaders of the Abudu Royal gate in Dagbon have accused President Mills of taking sides in the protracted Dagbon chieftaincy dispute following the President’s invitation of leaders of the Andani gate to a meeting at the Castle.

The Andani leaders flew to Accra this morning, Thursday March 31, 2011 at the invitation of the President.

They discussed the violent aftermath of a Fast track High Court ruling which acquitted and discharged some 15 suspects from the rival Abudu Royal gate who had been standing trial for the murder of the late Dagbon overlord Ya Na Yakubu Andani II.

The killing of the Dagbon overlord has been a source of conflict between the two Gates who are said to be aligned to the two main political parties. Majority of Abudus are believed to be members of the opposition NPP which was in government as of the Ya Na’s murder in 2002 while majority of Andanis voted for the NDC which promised to find and prosecute the killers of the late overlord.

Speaking to Citi News, Spokesperson of the Abudus, Dr Ziblim Iddi described the President’s invitation of the Andanis as discriminatory. He believes the President could have done more to resolve the conflict by inviting the two sides involved in the matter to the Presidency rather than just one faction.

“As the father of the nation and as a professor of law, the judge’s ruling should have given the President the opportunity to call both sides and to plead with both sides to take the judge’s ruling and to look at other avenues to reconcile our people” he emphasised.

“I would worry if the President would go down this path of selectively inviting one side of the divide based on the fact that they support his party”.

He called on the two sides to see Tuesday’s ruling in the right perspective. “We’re talking about Dagbon, and I have maintained that this is not a victory for Abudu, this court ruling was a victory for truth and justice, and so Dagombas should take it in their strides and rather look at opportunities that will move us forward as a people.

“The dark days of our people can be put behind us so that we can transform the dark days of yesterday into a brighter tomorrow, but if the president continues to meet one side and continues to give them a false sense of hope, then it would continue to divide us,” he opined.