The Northern Regional Minister Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris has urged senior citizens in the region to be advocates of peace and reconciliation. He observed that the region had for a long time been bedeviled with conflicts ranging from ethnic, chieftaincy, and religious and political and added that this had retarded its development. Alhaji Idris made the call at a reception hosted by the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) in Tamale on Sunday for a cross-section of senior citizens made up of retired educationist, civil and public servants, military officers, politicians and traditional rulers who contributed to the development of the region. He noted that the people of the region shared a lot of things in common and said it was regrettable that instead of hammering on what united them more emphasis was rather placed on their petty differences. He therefore urged the senior citizens to redeem the image of the region by resolving to change the agenda of the region "from conflict to peace, hatred to love, divisiveness to reconciliation and unity and development". Source: GNA