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Andani Royal Family in the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis on Monday said it accepted the decision of the Committee of Eminent Chiefs and would implement it as scheduled.

Mr Issifu Baba, Secretary to Andani Youth Association, who said this at a press conference called at the instance of Head and Members of the Andani Royal Family in Tamale, urged all to ignore statements by some members of the same family announcing that it was withdrawing from the roadmap announced by the Committee of Eminent Chiefs.

Last Saturday, December 15, some members of the Andani Royal Family held a press conference in Tamale where they announced their withdrawal from the Committee of Eminent Chiefs alleging bias on the parts of the Committee.

On November 21, this year, the Committee of Eminent Chiefs presented to President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra a roadmap for the performance of the funerals of the late Yaa-Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV and Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani II as part of efforts to resolve the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis.

According to the roadmap, the Abudu Royal Family was to perform the funeral of the late Yaa-Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV from December 14, 2018 to December 28, 2018 at the Gbewaa Palace at Yendi and vacate the palace to allow the Andani Royal Family to also enter the palace from January 4, 2019 to January 18, 2019 to perform the funeral of the late Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani.  

Immediately after the funerals, a substantive Yaa-Naa would be selected and enskinned to rule over the Dagbon Kingdom.

As per the roadmap, the Abudu Royal Family has begun performing the funeral of the late Yaa-Naa Mahamadu Abdulai II.

However, some members of the Andani Royal Family including the current Regent, Kampakuya-Na Andani said they were not privy to the decisions of the Committee of Eminent Chiefs on resolving the 15-year old chieftaincy crisis adding those attending the meetings of the Committee of Eminent Chiefs on behalf of the Andani Royal Family were imposters.

Mr Baba said “it is very lamentable that persons, who have no locus whatsoever in regard to matters related to the Committee, would dream up a statement purporting to be withdrawal of the Andani Royal Family from the Committee, which has completed its proceedings three weeks earlier.”

He said “in matters of negotiation or mediation, if a party wants to withdraw it may do so earlier at the beginning or at the middle or at worst towards the end. You do not withdraw from a mediation after judgment has been given. In this instance, it is three weeks after the judgment had been given and the implementation of the judgment has started.”

He said “we of the Andani Royal Family want people, who are ignorant of the fact, to know that by Dagbon customs and traditions, it is the uncles and brothers of a deceased person, who perform his funeral rites. It is not the children of a deceased person, who are responsible for performing his funeral rites.

Mr Baba said “on the question of Kampakuya-Na having written to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II stating names of representatives of the Andani Family and the Committee rather dealing with others, the truth remains that the business of the Andani Royal Family is the duty of the leadership of the entire family with the Yoo-Naa Abukari Mahama as Head of Family.”