In an interview on Accra FM’s Ghana Yensom morning show, hosted by Chief Jerry Forson on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, legal practitioner and politician Mr Cletus Avoka addressed questions surrounding the Bawku conflict and whether President John Dramani Mahama has the political will to end it.

The host referred to an earlier statement made by then-candidate Mahama, in which he suggested that violence in Bawku tends to escalate whenever the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is in power.

Chief Forson asked whether the current escalation of the conflict suggests that Mahama lacks the political will to resolve the long‑standing dispute.

In response, Mr Avoka maintained that the recent escalation did not occur during an NDC era but rather under the 2021–2024 NPP administration.

He explained that there has still been no full reconciliation because the mediation process has not yet been completed.

According to him,  President Mahama was “ambushed” by the situation when he returned to office.

Mr Avoka explained that the previous government, led by President Nana Akufo-Addo, had already declared the actions of the Nayiri as illegal and had even secured a warrant for his arrest.

However, instead of enforcing the law firmly as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and defender of the Constitution, President Akufo-Addo chose to hand the matter over to the Otumfuo-led mediation process.

Mr Avoka explained that when Mahama assumed office, there was already an ongoing traditional mediation process under the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Because of Ghana’s highly polarised political environment, if Mahama had abruptly taken the matter away from Otumfuo and handled it directly with presidential authority, it could have been interpreted as political interference.

“He was ambushed in the sense that he came to meet an already existing process, and he gave the go-ahead for Otumfuo to complete it,” Avoka said.

“After that, whatever the outcome may be, he can then use his political authority, and the oath he swore to the people of Ghana, to do the right thing and uphold the rule of law.”