President John Dramani Mahama has directed the establishment of a GH¢1 billion Bawku Revitalisation Fund to accelerate the socio-economic recovery and development of Bawku and its surrounding areas following years of protracted conflict.
The announcement was contained in an official government statement issued on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, in response to the Bawku Conflict Mediation Report presented by the Asantehene, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to the President on December 16, 2025.
The statement acknowledged that the long-standing chieftaincy dispute has caused severe human, social, and economic losses, severely undermining livelihoods, social cohesion, and development prospects while deterring public and private investment and stalling critical infrastructure projects.
To address these challenges and restore Bawku to its historic position as a major economic and trading hub in Northern Ghana, the GH¢1 billion fund will be disbursed over a three-year period from 2026 to 2028.
Priority areas for the fund include the reconstruction and upgrading of roads, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, dams and irrigation systems to support all-year-round farming, security installations, as well as economic and commercial infrastructure.
The Bawku Revitalisation Fund will be managed by a high-level committee chaired by the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, who is also serving as Acting Minister for Defence.
Other members of the committee include the Upper East Regional Minister, Donaltus Akamuguri, and the Majority Leader and MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, who will represent Members of Parliament from the area.
The announcement comes as part of the government’s full endorsement and acceptance of all findings and recommendations in the Otumfuo-led Mediation Report, which provides a roadmap for lasting peace and reconciliation in Bawku without apportioning blame.
The government also reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s position that Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II is the lawful Bawku Naba and accepted the recommendation to facilitate the recall of rival claimant Alhaji Seidu Abagre to Nalerigu under the directives of the Nayiri.
President Mahama urged all parties to abide by the mediation outcomes in the interest of peace, while calling for national support from traditional authorities, political leaders, youth groups, civil society, religious bodies, and citizens.
The statement, signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP, Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, expressed profound gratitude to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and other stakeholders for their role in the historic mediation process.