Kathleen Addy, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged the citizenry not to pay attention to political parties that campaign on intolerance and tribalism in their messaging.

She said the situation where political actors campaigned on ethnic and religious lines was not healthy for sustaining national unity and inter-relations.

She urged the citizenry to avoid such messages to help promote peace and harmony, especially before, during, and after the December polls.

Madam Addy was speaking at a police-community dialogue session held at Sagnarigu in the Northern Region as part of efforts to promote peaceful coexistence in the country.

The dialogue aimed to create a platform where personnel of the Ghana Police Service, community members, and other stakeholders in the area could interact to defuse suspicion and build trust to improve police-community relations and confidence.

The event attracted inter-party dialogue committee members, women and youth groups, representatives of political parties, the security services, and other stakeholders in the area. The dialogue also focused on violent extremism and its related effects.

Madam Addy urged all to live in peace with one another to ensure that violent extremists did not take advantage of their divisions to create confusion and instability.

She expressed the need for the citizenry to be law-abiding and prioritize reporting their grievances and issues to the appropriate quarters instead of taking the law into their own hands.

She said, “We must all be vigilant by identifying signs of conflicts in the early stages and report them to the appropriate authorities for early redress.”

Police Chief Inspector Adam Iddi Mohammed of the Sagnarigu District Police Command educated participants on the duties of the Ghana Police Service and how communities could support them to promote peace and harmony. He said the Police Service required the gathering of data and evidence to properly execute their duties, adding that the public must learn to report suspicious events within their communities.

Mr. Abdulai Soale, Sagnarigu Municipal Director of NCCE, said continuous dialogue would help settle any issues that could degenerate into violence and disrupt peaceful coexistence. He was optimistic that the 2024 general election would be peaceful and urged all stakeholders in the country to religiously play their roles effectively during the elections.

Naa Alhassan Mahamadu, Chief of Choggu, expressed concern about the rising cases of drug abuse, especially among the youth, saying it was a serious threat to peace and security.

Participants commended NCCE and partners for organizing the event and appealed to duty-bearers to ensure transparency in the discharge of their responsibilities to improve the trust and cordial relations between the Police Service and communities.