Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has said the recurrent conflict in Bawku has an emotional toll on him.

"It breaks my heart", he told the chiefs and queenmothers of the Upper East Region recently.

Dr Bawumia drummed home the need for the traditional leaders, youth, the various factions and other key stakeholders, to team up with the government and security agencies, to find lasting peace for the area in order for development to take place.

“As a son of the soil, my heart breaks about what is happening in Bawku", Dr Bawumia said to the traditional leaders, adding: "The conflict in Bawku is very unfortunate because we are really one people, and we must be together and not fight". "So, I hope that the initiatives that the government has initiated through the House of Chiefs and the Otumfuo will help us bring lasting peace to the area".

He said: "For us,on the part of the government, we understand that to prevent conflict and to enhance peace, we need to make sure that development in Ghana is inclusive".

"Everybody must feel a part of the development that we feel in the country", he noted. 

He warned: "When people are excluded, they are more susceptible to extremist ideologies".