The Oti Regional Secretariat of the minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the Ministry of the Interior to adopt more effective strategies to bring an end to the protracted conflict at Nkwanta in the Nkwanta South Municipality.
The secretariat acknowledged efforts made so far by the ministry to de-escalate the violence but maintained that those measures were insufficient.
It underscored the need for more pragmatic and decisive interventions to restore lasting peace.
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Speaking to The Ghanaian Times at Kadjebi yesterday, the Oti Regional Organiser of the NPP, Mr Felix Nana Ade, warned that the situation posed a growing threat to national security if urgent and deliberate action was not taken.
He explained that failure to address the root causes of the conflict could allow it to degenerate into a protracted crisis, similar to what pertained in Bawku, and cautioned that such a development must be avoided.
Mr Ade further noted that the longer the conflict persisted, the more difficult and costly it would become to achieve peace. According to him, this would ultimately deprive the area of the development it desperately needed, since peace remained a prerequisite for growth.
He said the conflict was already undermining the once vibrant economic life of Nkwanta, where residents previously went about their daily activities without fear.
He added that the current situation, marked by insecurity and uncertainty, required urgent intervention from the Ministry of the Interior.
Mr Ade, therefore, urged the ministry to take bold, nationally coordinated action to restore calm, warning that prolonged instability would not only disrupt economic activities but also worsen the living conditions of the people.
He indicated that residents were living in fear, explaining that many were reluctant to engage in business activities, while farmers were afraid to go to their farms.
He added that even government workers felt unsafe both at work and at home, with some leaving the municipality out of fear for their lives.
Mr Ade also appealed to stakeholders in the area to prioritise dialogue in resolving their differences.
He noted that the conflict was tarnishing not only the image of Nkwanta but also that of the entire Oti Region, and stressed the need for all parties to work together in order to restore peace and promote development.
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