Andanis Angry With Government

One of the �World Banks� of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is under threat as the party has come under scathing attacks for alleged deceit of the Andani Royal Family of Dagbon. Government and the party have been sternly criticized by some members of the Royal family over its protracted silence in unraveling those responsible for the death of the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II. The Andanis believe the NDC�s failure to inculcate the matter into its 2012 campaign manifesto is a clear indication that the current administration has given up on ever finding the perpetrators of the crime contrary to its 2008 manifesto promise which won them several votes in the region. Spokesperson of the Ya-Na Memorial Lecture Secretariat, Mahama Shaibu disclosed that government, prior to the 2008 elections, promised to establish a Commission of Inquiry to fish out those behind the death of the overlord, a move that was lauded by all members of the Andani Gate. He added that with less than two months to the general elections, nothing had been achieved despite the fact that Ya-Na�s death was a major campaign issue in the Northern region, which culminated in massive votes for the NDC. He described a statement by President John Dramani Mahama during one of his visits to the region as mere rhetoric, stressing that the NDC was capitalizing on the Andanis� passion on the matter to canvass votes in order to win elections. �We will not allow ourselves to be used by the NDC for its electoral gain since it has now departed completely from the agreed resolve it had with the Andanis,� he remarked. To this end, he demanded an unqualified apology from government to the Andani Royal Family for its lackadaisical approach. He further advised President Mahama to fulfill that aspect of the NDC�s 2008 manifesto pledge or lose votes massively on December 7 since some members of the Andani family were unhappy with the deceit. According to Mr. Shaibu, the late President John Evans Atta Mills started the processes which must be continued by his predecessor before the December general elections if government wants to prove its commitment to the matter. Mr. Shaibu reiterated that posterity will judge any stakeholder who helped directly or indirectly to fashion out the promise in the NDC manifesto. �We condemn those who claim to be Andanis and have a voice in government but do not want to pursue just for the Ya-Na; their preoccupation is to use it only when it will give them political advantage.� He threatened that the secretariat will name and shame those Andanis who used the matter to campaign, indicating that their days were numbered. The late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, who was born in August 1947 ascended to the Dagbon Kingship in 1974 until his demise on March 27, 2002. It was a major campaign issue for the NDC in 2008 but the party failed to prosecute some 15 suspects. Former President Mills promised to file an appeal against the acquittal of the suspects who were initially arrested in connection with the chief�s death.