"We Will No Longer Participate In Peace Talks" --Abudus

The Abudu Royal family will no longer engage their counterparts from the Andani family in any negotiation meant to restore lasting peace to the troubled Dagbon area. The family has served notice to the Committee of eminent chiefs mediating the peace process that it can no longer take part in the process because it has failed to yield the expected results. In a five page letter addressed to the committee of eminent chiefs led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Abudu family stated that their decision to withdraw from the talks stems from the inability of the Asantehene led committee to implement the road map of the final peace agreement. In an interview with Citi News, Majid Bawa, secretary to the Abudu family, said since the committee last met the two families on the 7th of November, 2008, they have realized that � there has been a stalemate�, for which reason the �mediation process is not yielding any positive results.� He indicated that the families had earlier reached two agreements: the road map to peace in Dagbon and the final peace agreement. In both agreements, the families consented that the Abudus were to allow �the Andanis to bury the late Ya-na Yakubu Andani, install a regent and then vacate the palace,� after which the Abudus were also to �move in to install a regent, perform the funeral and also move out.� Majid Bawa alleged that �after the Andanis had benefited from that agreement, anytime that a negotiation was called, it has been back and forth and there hasn�t been any movement.� He added that �We feel that the Asantehene and his committee has preponderance of evidence to implement the road map and the final peace agreement of which they are not doing and we feel that we will never participate in any negotiation unless it is meant to decide when the funeral of the late Ya-Na Mahamadu Abdulai will be performed.� The Abudu family has thus called on the Committee of Eminent Chiefs to revert to the President if it cannot handle the matter so that the �appropriate and existing laws and agreements that binds the people will be implemented.� The troubled family has also stated that further debates on the Dagbon matter and custom is at this point unnecessary. Rather, it believes that what is needed is �a strict implementation of existing laws and agreements on the dispute.�