The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has blamed the two biggest political parties - National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) - for the difficulty in resolving the Dagbon crisis. He said while the Committee of Eminent Chiefs, which he chaired, spent time and energy, sometimes at odd times, to help bring lasting peace to Dagbon, politicians from the two parties continuously stoked the fires for political gains. “I want to stress that politicians can never resolve this protracted Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and they better stay behind to allow the traditional rulers and the Dagbon people themselves to resolve the matter,” he said. The Asantehene, who was speaking at a grand durbar to mark the 40th anniversary of the enstoolment of the Juabenhene, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, at Juaben in the Ashanti Region last Saturday, expressed concern that while the NDC said they were for Andanis, the NPP insisted they supported the Abudus. Otumfuo pointed out that but for the negative activities of politicians; his committee would have put the issue to rest by now. Mincing no words about the headache politicians were giving him over the Dagbon crisis, he said it was time for them to back off, stressing that he could not continue to play a lead role in the settlement process if the situation persisted. It was culture at its best at Juaben as Nananom were dressed in the best of clothes and citizens of the town and well-wishers filled every space at the durbar ground. The presence of the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, added colour to the occasion, while key personalities from the political parties, including the NPP flag bearer for the 2012 presidential elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, also took part in the festivities. Stressing the role of chieftaincy in national development, the Asantehene challenged Nananom to give meaning to the stools they occupied by seeking the welfare of their subjects. A good chief, he noted, was not the one who put on beautiful cloths but the one who lead his people to chart a path of development. It was in that vein that he congratulated Nana Siriboe on being a worthy Omanhene. The Juaben Traditional Area, Otumfuo noted, had seen tremendous development under the Omanhene and urged him to continue with the spirit in the years ahead. When he mounted the podium, the Vice-President Mahama said the world had changed and today people had become so enlightened that they wanted their chiefs to do what would bring appreciable level of development to them and their communities. He indicated that traditional rulers had significant roles to play in national development which was why the government always recognised them as partners in development. Mr Mahama pointed out that since Ghana was bigger than any single individual, all manner of people must live within the laws of the land. He said as the nation entered the election year, it behooved everyone to avoid acts that could disturb the peace of the nation. The government, for its part, would do everything to ensure that the elections were held in an atmosphere of peace, he gave the assurance. Mr Mahama commended the Asantehene for the laudable role he had played in trying to restore peace to Dagbon and promised that the government would support his committee in its work. For his part, the Juabenhene enumerated some of the development projects the area had benefited from under his leadership in education, health and employment creation and information and communications technology among others. He commended the people of the traditional area for the support given him in the past 40 years and expressed the hope that they would continue to throw their weight behind him.