The Builsa North Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has held its second Inter-party Dialogue Committee meeting to sensitize members on their roles towards preventing extremist groups from entering the country.
The day’s meeting, held at Sandema, was also to ensure peace and tolerance in this electioneering period as well as to educate members on the effects of spreading fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.
The meeting was attended by the leadership of political parties in the area, religious leaders, youth groups, persons living with disabilities, civil society organisations and heads of department.
Mr Jeffery Adda, the Builsa North Municipal Director of NCCE, speaking during the meeting, urged participants to guard against extremist tendencies in their communities as the country approached the general election in December.
He urged members of political parties to tolerate divergent views and desist from misinformation and disinformation in this electioneering period.
Mr Adda noted that Violent Extremism and Terrorism continue to remain a serious challenge for the preservation of democratic governance which is very essential for peace, prosperity, safety in the country and the sub-region at large.
He said terrorism and other forms of violence including violent extremism have the potential to derail the democratic gains Ghana has made.
He concluded that the Inter-Party Dialogue Committ (IPDC) aims to undertake peace building consultative meetings and working with other stakeholders in averting violent extremism, promoting peaceful coexistence and national cohesion.
He urged the participants especially the political parties to encourage their members to be law abiding and focus on maintaining the peace being enjoyed in the country.
Assistant Superintendent of Police ( ASP) Mr. Joseph Tabiri, Builsa North Municipal Police Commander, who was the facilitator, urged participants to be vigilant and report suspicious characters in the communities to any police station for them to take immediate action.
ASP Tabiri urged leadership of political parties to impress on their followers to adhere to due processes in resolving grievances amongst themselves.
He urged the political parties to desist from defacing each other posters as such attitude has the tendency to trigger violence.
The meeting was part of the European Union (EU) sponsored programmes on Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Action in the Northern Regions of Ghana.
