Togbe Agbobada IV, Chief of Adaklu Waya, has said the critical role of Chiefs in the country's democratic dispensation cannot be overemphasised.

He said Chiefs, as custodians of their communities, were key players in the decentralization process.

Togbe Agbobada made this known during the Adaklu District Assembly's Public Consultation Forum on the preparation of its 2022-2025 Medium Term Development Plan at Adaklu Waya.

Togbe Agbobada said no politician could make a successful community engagement without the explicit permission and involvement of the chief of that community.

He, therefore, called on politicians to accord traditional authorities the needed recognition and respect.

The Chief reminded the politicians that the social contract demanded that they were elected to serve the people and be accountable to them and not to lord it over them.

He called on Ghanaians not to sit on the fence but to keep politicians on their toes to develop the country.

"The beauty of democracy is to unite and work together devoid of political affiliation for the good of the country," he stressed.

Togbe Agbobada praised the Assembly for organising the Public Consultation Forum, describing it as an innovation and appealed to the managers of the Assembly to achieve the development goals they set for the district.

At the forum, all the 13 elected Assembly members presented the development project needs of communities in their electoral areas to be incorporated into the Medium Term Development Plan of the Assembly.