Akomadan (Ash),– The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has admonished Ghanaians to seek redress to their grievances through lawful processes.
They must always follow laid-down procedures and desist from violating rules and regulations in their quest to demand justice, accountability and fairness from leadership at all levels.
Mr Richard Osei, Head of Programmes at the Ashanti Regional Office of NCCE, who made the observation, said Ghana was governed by the rule of law and citizens needed to operate within the confines of the law.
He was speaking at an Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) meeting organised by the Offinso North District Directorate of the NCCE as part of the Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC) project.
The IPDC meeting was partly meant to ignite dialogue among political parties and other stakeholders on the collective responsibility of addressing the tensions being created by the activities of violent extremist groups in the Sahel region and preventing the likelihood of spillover in Ghana.
The goal is to fight transnational organised crimes while promoting respect for human rights and rule of law.
Funded by the European Union, the meeting which was attended by representatives of political parties, women and youth groups and persons with disabilities also sought to provide a platform for participants to discuss effective ways to identify early warning signals of extremist violence.
Mr Osei said peaceful co-existence and national cohesion were critical to the accelerated development of the country and urged citizens to adopt a peaceful approach in resolving issues irrespective of the level of provocation.
He said peace-building was the way forward to Ghana’s development and urged the citizenry to contribute to efforts to promote peace.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gyesi Agyemang, the District Police Commander, underlined the need for Ghanaians to take their security seriously as a first step of protecting society.
He said each individual had the first responsibility to prioritise his or her security to complement the efforts of security agencies to protect the larger community.
He said vigilantism and all related activities had been outlawed and cautioned the youth to stay away from vigilante groups as law-abiding citizens or face the wrath of the Police.
Ms Rosina Owoo, the District Director of NCCE, advised the participants to always keep the shortcodes of the emergency services for their security and that of others who might be in danger.
She called for the revival of neighbourhood watchdog committees to ensure improved security in communities.
She said all the participants had a stake in Ghana’s development and urged them to be agents of change in their respective groups, institutions and communities.
Source: Ghana News Agency