Most Reverend Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, Catholic Bishop of the Yendi Diocese, has suggested to parties who might not be satisfied with the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Election 2012 petition to resort to the constitutionally laid down procedure of seeking redress.
He said there was the need to act with utmost maturity and where necessary seek judicial review of the verdict of the Supreme Court instead of resorting to violence.
Most Rev Sowah Boi-Nai said this during a day’s consultative peace forum on the election petition organized by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), an NGO with support from STAR-Ghana at Wulensi in the Nanumba South District.
It was to sensitize the participants, who are traditional rulers, opinion leaders and youth of the District on the need to ensure peace no matter the way the verdict of the Supreme Court went.
The district is generally a peaceful area but there are pockets of chieftaincy issues making it a flash point in terms of security and it is feared that some unscrupulous persons may want to take advantage of the Supreme Court verdict to foment trouble and hence the peace forum.
Most Rev Sowah Boi-Nai, therefore, advised the youth not to take the law into their own hands or allow politicians to manipulate them to act contrary to the laws of the country.
He called for circumspection in reacting to the verdict of the Supreme Court since it would have repercussions on the country’s credentials as the pace setter on the continent.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Charles Tetteh, Bimbilla District Police Commander, said the security agencies in the district were ready to maintain law and order as they had always done.
ASP Tetteh said the security agencies in the District had put in place mechanisms to swiftly respond to any untoward eventualities and would not spare anybody whose acts would disturb the peace of the country.
Alhaji Amidu Seidu, the District Chief Executive, said the district had experienced the consequences of a non-peaceful society and had resolved to remain peaceful at all times.
Mr Abdulai Fuseini, the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, called on all to consider the Supreme Court petition as one of the means of testing and strengthening the country’s democracy and resolve to accept the verdict.
Alhaji Abdulai Baba, Board Member of GDCA and Facilitator of the Dagbon Peace Initiative, called on participants to serve as peace ambassadors in their communities.