The Gonjaland Youth Association(GLYA) has, on the occasion of the peace pipe smoked in Dagbon, condemned views contained in comments authored by its Public Relations Officer(PRO), Mahama Haruna.

In a Facebook post, the Mahama Haruna is alleged to have said that Gonjas were scheming to overtake Dagombas at the time the latter were fighting and killing each other and beheading their kings.

He added that Dagombas have accepted peace, they can now take their rightful place in the scheme of things in the Northern region.

"I wish to remind our brothers Dagombas that while they were fighting, killing each other and beheading their kings, we Gonjas were scheming in so many fronts to overtake them and we succeeded in everything planned," portions of the post read.

The post which received wide condemnation has since been pulled down.

But in a statement copied to Ghanaweb, the GLYA has said it fully condemns and disassociates itself completely from the unfortunate sentiments, adding that the comments do not represent the views of the association but that of the author only.

"The Association finds it regrettable that Mr. Haruna who is the current PRO of the GLYA will post such unfortunate comments on his personal page. While we are aware he has since taken down the offensive post, we believe it is important to clarify that he bears sole responsibility for the words and views expessed therein,"portions of the statement read.

It said the GLYA has lived in peace with the people of Dagbon and will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure lasting peace and development is realized in the Northern region.

Meanwhile, Mahama Haruna has since resigned his post as PRO of the association over what he described absurd breach of trust by members of the association, even after his "years of diligent service to the association".

Read below the full statement:

DISCLAIMER BY GONJALAND YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN RESPECT OF THE FACEBOOK COMMENT BY MAHAMA HARUNA.

The attention of the leadership of Gonjaland Youth Association (GLYA) has been drawn to a post circulating on Facebook and other Social Media attributed to Mr. Mahama Haruna, commenting on the era of peace anticipated in Dagbon following the successfull performance of the funerals of the deceased Ya Na's and the pending enskinment of a new Ya Na scheduled for this Friday, 25th January, 2019.

The Gonjaland Youth Association (GLYA) wishes to unequivocally dissociate itself from the sentiments expressed in the post and actually condemns the views contained in the comments authored by Mr. M. Haruna.

We urge all our Northern brothers and sisters and especially our brothers and sisters of Dagbon to disregard the statement in it entirety. We consider the post as most unfortunate and regrettable.

The comments expressed in the post do not represent the views of the members of our association and Gonjas in general. The Association finds it regrettable that Mr. Haruna who is the current PRO of the GLYA will post such unfortunate comments on his personal page. While we are aware he has since taken down the offensive post, we believe it is important to clarify that he bears sole responsibility for the words and views expessed therein.

The Gonjaland Youth Association and Gonjas as an ethnic group have lived with our brothers in Dagbon peacefully and shall continue to collaborate with all stakeholders in Northern Region in order to ensure a lasting peace and development in the region.

It is instructive to note that the issue of the partitioning of the Northern Region in order to bring development closer to our people was one achieved by consensus, as evidenced in the unanimous resolution of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, which triggered the Commission of Inquiry leading to the recently held referendum.

We cherish the role played by all our Northern Leaders, from the era of pre and post independence, in the CPP, the Northern Peoples' Party, through out Ghana's history, including our first Northern President, Dr. Hilla Limann, our first Northern Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, immediate past President John Dramani Mahama and our Current Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. All these persons have cleared a political path for our children and grandchildren into the foreseeable future. The achievement of all these leaders was attained by solidarity and not by the parochial ethnic agenda of any one group.

We are therefore by this statement urging the general public to disregard the said unfortunate statement and that, we as an Association and Gonjas in general dissociate ourselves from these reckless comments.

We celebrate the efforts of successive governments, the Eminent Chiefs, the Peace Council, the Dagbon Traditional Council and all who have continued to work to bring a lasting resolution to this long standing crisis. We salute the National Security Council and HE. President Akufo Addo for the perseverance that has brought the lasting peace that has long eluded us, finally within our grasp.

Meanwhile, the Association wishes to assure the general public that GLYA will inquire into the reasoning behind the comments expressed by Mr. Haruna in order to forestall any such divisive comments in the future.

We stand for Northern solidarity in the interest of national peace and that should be our collective goal.

Thank you
Alhassan Dramani
National Chairman, GLYA