The National House of Chiefs has declined to adopt the revised Dagbon constitution, which was presented to them for approval.
The rejection was based on concerns raised by certain chiefs regarding unresolved boundary issues. In light of this, the House has called for additional stakeholder consultations to address all outstanding territorial matters before the constitution can be adopted.
Naa Puowelle Karbo, Vice President of the National House of Chiefs, made this announcement during a meeting held in Kumasi.
“The National House of Chiefs has decided that they should go back and have some consultation and then come back. We have no problem with the various aspects of the Constitution,” he said.
Reacting to the issue, Muhammad Mumuni, a former Foreign Affairs Minister who served as a consultant to the committee that reviewed the constitution argued that the boundary issues should not stop the adoption of the constitution.
“They have lived in those boundaries in peace and, of course, there are a few issues here and there. There may be issues about boundaries, between us and our neighbours and therefore, the Dagbon traditional authority should set up a technical committee to determine precise boundaries. Right now, we don’t have precise boundaries.”
“The issues that have been raised regarding boundaries have been anticipated. Provision has been made to take care of it. We are submitting that this process can go on and the issues of boundaries will be taken on board at the appropriate time,” Muhammad Mumuni said.
