Sandema (U/E), Sept 14, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has expressed displeasure at the failure by elders of the Builsa Traditional Council to formally inform him of the death of the Paramount Chief of the Traditional Area, Naab Ayieta Azantilow.

The President said the late chief was a national figure and the state should have been involved in the funeral of such a man. "The late Sandem-Naab was more than qualified to have a state burial but nobody informed me about his death," he said during his recent visit to flood areas in the region.

President Kufuor said he expected the elders to show some respect to the presidency.

He said he was not in the area to discuss chieftaincy issues but he could not hide the feelings within him because while alive the late chief treated him as though he was one of his biological sons. "I must be frank with you. I thought perhaps I wasn't wanted here but I have to bring relief to the good people of Ghana. I would expect the princes and elders to make amends immediately."

President Kufuor advised members of the Sandema royal family to bury the hatchet and exercise fairness for the family to be united once again.

Responding to requests made by the regent of the traditional area on the need to speed up work on the main road linking Sandema and Navrongo, President Kufuor said he was unhappy with the progress of work and assured the people that engineers would be detailed to redesign the road to ensure that it could withstand greater volumes of water to prevent similar occurrences in future.

President Kufuor visited some schools the district assembly had turned into refugee camps temporarily to house the displaced people. At the Sandema Preparatory School, the refugees were sharing the classrooms with the pupils.