Bolgatanga (U/E), 20, GNA - Mr Musah Abdulai, Bawku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has called on the people in the area to follow due processes in organizing events.

Mr Abdulai, also the Chairman of the Bawku Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), warned that his outfit would not allow some few people to derail the achievements made in bringing peace to the area. He stressed that it was high time the people of Bawku respected the Constitution and Rule of Law and noted that it was when due process was adhered to that there could be sustained peace in Bawku. The MCE said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the weekend in Bolgatanga.

Reacting to a possible celebration of the Damba Festival in Bawku, Mr Abdulai indicated that as the Chairman of MUSEC, he had not been informed b= y any person or group of people who may intend to celebrate the festival and said the Police had also not been informed. The MCE said he did not know when the people intended to celebrate the festival saying if there was any such planned event then the 93organizers of the event have failed to follow due procedure in organising such an event. They are supposed to notify the Police for five days before the celebration".

Mr Abdulai expressed worry about some derogatory remarks printed on paraphernalia by the organizers of the intended festival which he noted has the tendency of derailing the peace achieved so far. He said plans were far advanced by MUSEC to seize all paraphernalia that bore derogatory remarks to avoid escalation of the conflict in the area.

He said: 93Bawku has gone far in the peace process and it need to be sustained and improved upon. Business activities have picked up and the economy in the area has started bouncing back and this should not be allowe= d to be derailed by some few people".

Mr Abdulai admonished the people of Bawku to see themselves as manager= s of conflict because violence was not a tool for development. He said a lot of development partners and other businessmen who abandoned the area in the wake of the conflict were returning to continue with their business and expressed optimism that Bawku would bounce back to its good days if people in the area respected the law. Touching on the visit by the National Security Coordinator, Colonel Larry Gbevlo Lartey to Bawku, the MCE said he was in the area with his team to assess the performance and challenges of the security men. He indicated that the National Security Coordinator visited the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area and security officers where h= e addressed and commended them for their hard work, encouraging them to keep it up. The MCE dispelled rumours that there was confusion during the visit of the National Security Coordinator adding that he was given warm reception b= y the people of Bawku.