Representatives of political parties in the Garu District in the Upper East Region have pledged their commitment to maintain and sustain the peace in the district.
The representatives, who pledged to liaise with the security agencies to maintain the peace, made their commitment at an Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) meeting on Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions (NORPREVSEC) held at the Conference Hall of the Garu District Assembly.
Present at the meeting were the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Chairman, Mr Bagre Abraham; the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Constituency Chairman, Thomas Laar Mate; the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Constituency Chairman, Ben Yussif Lambon, and a representative of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Mr Ibrahim Bagre.
Speakers
On behalf of the NPP, Mr Bagre noted that leaders of the political parties just as their members interacted among themselves every day.
“We sit together, eat and drink together.
There is no need in harbouring enmity among ourselves just because we belong to different political parties,” he stated, adding that “uncle Ibrahim for instance, is my uncle.
I am in the NPP and he is the constituency founder of GUM”.
“Those are the political parties we have chosen to belong to. All that politics means is that you sell your idea, I sell my idea.
The idea majority of the people choose is the idea that wins, hence there is no need for us fight one another because of political party affiliations,” he stated.
For his part, Mr Laar acknowledged the work of the NCCE and gave the assurance that the political parties would work together to maintain the peace in the district. “As members of the same family, we are for the peace and the success of the Garu District.
“We have taken the advice the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has given today,” he assured the people.
Extremism
In his presentation on Preventing Violent Extremism, the Garu Police Commander, Superintendent of Police, Mr Adangabe Akante-Banaam, encouraged citizens to collaborate with the security agencies and all stakeholders to fight against violent extremism.
He entreated residents to remain calm and report any suspicious characters to the security agencies to safeguard the peace and security of the area.
The Deputy Co-ordinating Director of the Garu District Assembly, Mr Samson Azure Alhassan, advised the participants to help prevent violent extremism which threatened Ghana’s democratic gains.
The NCCE Officer-in-charge of the Garu Directorate, Mr Samuel Akolgo Atando, who spoke on the National Security Strategy and National Framework For
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, urged the participants to continue creating awareness on preventing violence, extremism and ensuring the adherence to Human Rights and Rule of Law.
He entreated participants to join neighbourhood watch/community patrols to enhance community surveillance efforts, as well as create awareness at worship centres, and be on the lookout for possible signs of radicalisation among the youth in their communities.
Explaining the rational of the IPDC, Mr Akolgo noted that it was established by NCCE to encourage dialogue, political tolerance, promote peace and resolve conflicts before, during and after general elections.
<<Print>>