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President John Mahama has urged the Naayiri of Mamprugu Traditional Area Naa Bohagu Abdulai Sheriga to join efforts in brokering lasting peace in Bawku. The president said he had initiated some processes aimed at bringing closure to Dagbon chieftaincy crisis, but is worried about the situation in Bawku. He was speaking at a grand durbar of people and chiefs of the Manprugu Traditional Area in Nalerigu in the East Mamprusi District of the Northern Region. The region had gained notoriety for violent ethnic clashes between Mamprusis and Kusasis as well as Abudus and Andanis but there has been relative peace over the past few months. The conflicts have claimed hundreds of innocent lives and destroyed properties worth several millions of cedis. The president is convinced that with the assistance of Naa Bohagu Abdulai Sheriga, there would be peace in Bawku. Responding to the appeals by Naa Abdulai Sheriga for development projects to be brought into the region, the president said there are plans to invest over I billion cedis to expand the road networks in the region as well as embark on other developmental projects but stressed all these will amount to nothing if there is no peace in the area. The president also took the opportunity to explain recent increases in utilities and other taxes, describing them as difficult but necessary decisions.