We’re tired of being used by politicians for violence – Northern Regional Minister

The Northern Regional Security Council has warned it will deal with any group of people or politicians who attempt to recruit the youth from the region to foment trouble in the upcoming general elections in December.

Chairman of the Council, Salifu Saeed, said the region has suffered enough in the hands of politicians who always run to the area to influence and recruit people to cause mayhem in parts of the country on election day.

Addressing some soldiers at the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces in Tamale to launch the disinfection and fumigation of military installations in the region, he said that era is over.

According to him, the people of the Northern Region will no longer tolerate such rabblerousing politicians.

“Those people who have that mind or the potential of thinking that they can come to the Northern region like in the past to get people to come out to cause confusion during election year, such time has passed. We will not tolerate it”.

He said the people were now tired of conflicts which has partly dragged the development of the area.

“We are tired with conflict, we are tired with abuse of politicians trying to use us to mobilise ourselves to fight ourselves,” Mr Saeed stated, and warned “we are not going to countenance that”.

The REGSEC, the minister said, “is more than ready and prepared to deal with whoever will leave his region, his community to come to the Northern region under the pretext that they’re politicians and want to come and mobilise people here to foment trouble”.

He indicated that the region has over the years struggled to bring peace and stability which he noted has begun yielding results.

“We have struggled to get Dagbon peace, we have struggled to maintain [peace] and contain all the hotspots in the region and that is why Northern Region is largely peaceful now, and investors are trooping in to the region, developments are coming,” he stated.

Mr Saeed warned the REGSEC will not allow anybody irrespective of their political colour, to derail the gains made.

“We have started enjoying and seeing the benefit of peace. I’m sending a clear warning, when any political party wants to do that we are going to take criminal action against them,” he warned

He has meanwhile appealed to the people of the north, particularly opinion leaders, imams and chiefs not to allow anyone to use them to cause trouble during the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The exercise being undertaken Zoomlion Ghana Limited, will see by the leading waste management company disinfect all military installations including barracks and schools across the country against covid-19 which has infected more than 10,000 people in Ghana.

For the Northern, Savannah and North East Region, the exercise kickstarted Wednesday morning from the Northern Command Headquarters and continued to the 6 Infantry Battalion Headquarters popularly known as Kamina Barracks and the Bawah Barracks.

General Manager of Zoomlion for the three regions, Peter Dawuni, said more than 8,000 basic schools and 96 senior high schools within the regions are also being disinfected against the covid-19 pandemic.

The exercise, he said, was being done simultaneously and expected to be completed by June 27.

“The output is for us to minimize if not eliminate, the threat of covid-19. We all know the virus is something that cannot be visible and therefore it is appropriate that intermittently, we disinfect these facilities.

The exercise, he said, is a partnership between Zoomlion and government and geared towards the spread of the deadly virus.