Vice-President Aliu Mahama has said the government will have no hand in the appointment or removal of chiefs.

"It is the prerogative of the national house of chiefs to handle chieftaincy matters", Alhaji Mahama told the press in Tamale in reaction to a question about his role in the Dagbon chieftaincy divide.

The Vice-president, a Dagomba, is allegedly aligned to one of the two chieftaincy gates in Dagbon.

He said the decision of the Supreme Court in 1986 had settled the matter finally and that decision is irreversible.

Alhaji Mahama said Dagbon has come a long way and it would be suicidal to revisit the chieftaincy dispute. "It is now time to put our act together and forge ahead," he said.