Accra, Jan. 23, GNA - Nana Kwabina Angu II, Apinto Hene of Wassa Fiase Traditional Area, on Sunday said that the numerous chieftaincy disputes plaguing the institution had dented traditional authority and called for amicable resolution of such disputes.

"The dignity, respect and integrity of the chieftaincy institution is under serious threat from within and without and stands the risk of losing its influence if the necessary mechanism are not employed to save it," Nana Angu stated.

Nana Angu, chief of Awudua, in the Wassa West District, was briefing newsmen in Accra on the causes of recent chieftaincy clashes at Awudua and other traditional areas.

He attributed the increasing number of chieftaincy disputes to the lack of a clear order of succession to stools and skins, the subversion of the rules of succession, infiltration of outside forces including political influence on the mode of succession among other factors.

Nana Angu appealed to political parties to be circumspect in their statements so as not to lay the grounds for chieftaincy disputes. He said traditional authority was crucial to the development and sustenance of democracy and urged non-governmental and civil society organisations to support and promote the dignity of the institution.

The chief urged the youth to renounce violence and join hands with all peace loving people for amicable settlement of a four-year old dispute, which had stifle the development of the area, saying: "The youth should be agent of development."