The Northern Regional Minister, Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, says people who are calling for his dismissal are only “crying wolf” because they “felt threatened” by his failure to rather compromise his office. The minister, who has been in the news for taking various contentious decisions in recent times said he has “no regret” for any of his actions because “I did [them] with a clear conscience and I did [them] based on the facts on the ground”. He has therefore issued a strong warning to his detractors in the area to watch out for a fierce battle with the Security Council. “Whoever wants to disturb the peace of the area would be taken care of by the Regional Security Council. That is all. Whether Andani or Abudu who comes out to disturb the peace we shall take care of that person.” He sounded the caution in an interview with Joy FM’s Evans Mensah on Wednesday. News on Mr Nayina hit the airwaves for dismissing a former Northern Regional Police Commander from a Security Council meeting last month and subsequently called for his withdrawal from the region. Over the weekend, the minister gave security protection to the Andani gate, one of the factions in the Dagbon Traditional Area, to undertake renovation works on the controversial Gbewaa Palace. Mr Nayina explained his latest action: “The decision to give security cover for the rehabilitation of the royal mausoleum was not taken by the regional minister but by the Regional Security Council. That is the first point; secondly, it was done as a result of a request from the regent of Dagbon that the royal mausoleum was in a very bad state, in fact in a state of disrepair, and so needed security cover for the people who normally do the repairs to carry them out.” Even though he vehemently denied taking any unilateral decision, the Abudu gate has accused the minister of being an impediment to the roadmap to peace in the area and asked the president to relief him of his post. However, the minister intimated: “That is their own imagination, because I am very freak, I am neutral in the whole issue and so if I am still at neutral and they cannot bend me, that is why they are saying all those things.” He assured the people of the region that “I am here for the right thing to be done, whether it is against the Abudu or the Andani; that is not my matter”. He said those who said he was a hindrance to peace are not being “genuine”. “When you are bent on doing the right things, by all means you will step on the toes of certain people and they will not take it kindly. So when you step on somebody’s toe, he lifts you so that he can take his toe and even if he gets your head he will take it.” Story by Isaac Essel/Myjoyonline.com