Tamale, Oct. 27, GNA -The Council of State has thrown its weight behind efforts being initiated to perform the funeral rites of late chiefs of Dagbon, saying that such a move will pave the way for enskinment of new chiefs to forestall peace and unity in disputed areas of the Northern Region.

Professor Kofi Awoonor, Chairman of the Council of State said the Government will give the necessary security protections to ensure the performance of all such funerals were conducted without any breach of peace.

Prof. Awoonor was addressing the Northern Regional House of Chiefs in Tamale on Wednesday during a two-day visit to the Region by members of the Council to acquaint themselves with development activities in the area and to learn the problems confronting the people to be able to advise the President appropriately.

The visit is also part of a nationwide tour by the Council which had already taken them to the Western and Upper West Regions. Accompanying the Council members on the tour were Wulugu Na Prof. John Nabila, President of the National House of Chiefs and Prof. Akilakpa Sawyerr.

Prof. Awoonor assured the Northern Regional House of Chiefs that the Council will carry their demand for the splitting of the Region into two to the President and the Government, and that if it was in the interest of the state, it would be considered for the promotion of good governance.

He also commended members of the House for their interventions that had helped in maintaining the fragile peace prevailing in the Region and for their efforts at resolving some chieftaincy disputes pending before the House.

Earlier, the Council of State members paid a courtesy call on some chiefs in the Tamale Metropolis and appealed to the chiefs and people in the Region to ensure that the coming general election was conducted in an atmosphere of peace.

The Yagbon Wura Tuntumbe Boresa Japka II, President of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs commended the Council for visiting the Region, saying that the House was grateful to the Government for commencing the payment of allowances to chiefs in the country.

He said the Region was facing numerous developmental challenges in relation to roads, health, education as well as infrastructure, and called on the Council to intervene for the speedy development of the area.

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Bukari Mabengba told the Council members that the Region was the largest in the country with agriculture being the mainstay of the people.

He said various development projects were ongoing in different parts of the Region, adding that Government had awarded various road networks in the Region on contract to speed up the development efforts to transform the lives of the people.

Dr. Akwasi Twumasi, Regional Director of Health Services told the Council members that even though interventions had been made at improving the health conditions of people in the area, a lot was still left to be done. He said the Region had inadequate distribution of health personnel with only seven doctors serving the 20 districts of the entire Norther Region.

He said the Region continued to be unattractive to qualified health personnel, and that out of five medical doctors posted to the Region last year, only two reported with most of the health centres and hospitals having few midwives to receive deliveries.

Dr. Twumasi said infant mortality and maternal mortality were still a major problem confronting the country and that the Region was no exception, attributing the situation to bad road networks, lack of social amenities and poor health facilities.

He stated that among some of the sucesses achieved in the health sector in the Region included the facing out of the guineaworm pandemic and a reduction of malaria cases.