Paramount Queenmother of the Manya Krobo Traditional area, Nana Aplam II has reiterated her calls to young people, particularly pupils and students to lead responsible lives to ensure that they end up as responsible adults in future.

The Queenmother as part of her annual ‘Queen’s Valentine Bite’ to observe valentine told students that unacceptable activities indulged in by the youth including premarital sex, drug abuse and sexual immorality were deeds capable of destroying and robbing them of their future.

“Even if you have to study more, don’t take any drugs, don’t smoke, don’t call saints, don’t chant, don’t do any of those things that you know is not good,” she counselled them.

The Queen’s Valentine Bite was aimed at bringing girls of school going age from Primary school to Senior High School to educate them on the effects of pre-marital sex to mark the valentine day celebration.

The programme which came off at the premises of the Christ Apostolic Church at Asesewa in the upper manya krobo district attracted scores of school girls, traditional rulers, parents and other dignitaries.

According to Nana Aplam II, cases of teenage pregnancy in the Manya Krobo Traditional Area remained a matter of concern, adding that the rate of the phenomenon was alarming and might have negative impact on society.

The situation, she said was very alarming and needs urgent attention from the assembly, traditional rulers, parents and teachers to curb this devastating issue at hand.

The Queenmother who described as appalling, instances of teenage pregnancy arising out of valentine day celebrations, blamed these incidents on the nonchalance and disregard for the dangers associated with the phenomenon on the part of teenage girls especially and charged them to be rather studious.

According to the Nana Aplam II, girls of school going age nowadays saw boy/girl relationships as a fashion which is leading them into getting pregnant on a daily basis, adding that girls must desist from sexual relationships and rather take their learning very seriously.

Increases in cases of teenage pregnancy in the municipality have been blamed on many factors such as lack of proper parental care, too many drinking spots and night clubs, peer group influence among others, a situation she cautioned could affect the development of the area and the country at large if not checked.

Nana Aplam maintained that there was a need for parents to take good care of their wards by providing them with their basic needs to help them improve their academic performance to avoid the influence of boys taking advantage of them,” she said.

The students and pupils, as part of the National Chocolate Day celebrations, were presented with a bar of chocolate each.

Other officials from the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Education Service were present at the event.