Bimbilla (N/R), Dec. 28, GNA - Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has appealed to the people of Nanumba Traditional Area to find an amicable solution to the long standing Bimbilla chieftaincy dispute. He said the dispute was retarding the development of the area and noted that the resources government expends to maintain peace and security in the area could have been invested into other sectors in Bimbilla.

Dr Chambas, who hails from Bimbilla, was addressing the annual delegates' congress of the Nanumba Youth Association (NAYA) at Bimbilla, in the Northern region on Saturday. He urged the people of Nanum to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism, which according to him was inherent in the African tradition to find a long lasting solution to the chieftaincy dispute.

Dr Chambas, who is also the Secretary-General of the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries said with the ADR, there would be no winner or loser as all the parties in the dispute would be given a fair hearing and treated with decorum and respect. He emphasized the importance of education in the development of a nation and said the developed countries had reached where they were because their citizens took education seriously. He, therefore, urged parents to invest in the education of their children, especially the girl-child. He also called on Ghanaians to take the issue of climate change seriously since it was a real threat to the environment and was adversely affecting agriculture productivity. He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to take measures to protect the environment by adopting and practicing environmental friendly agriculture practices.

Dr Adam Hafix Tahiru, President of NAYA urged all Northerners to unite and come together to resolve their differences and fight against their common enemies of poverty, diseases and ignorance. He said future generations would not forgive the present generation if they did not stop the petty chieftaincy disputes that were dissipating the little resources meant for the development of the North.