The 1960 legislation, whatever its faults, gave the Dagomba kingdom six years of peace, though during this period the regime which was responsible grew corrupt and finally collapsed, on the morning of 24 February 1966. While it lasted, the C.P.P. regime expanded its patronage continually. In 1962 a whole new set of Local Councils came into existence and were filled by party nominees; by 1965, Dagomba had nine M.P.s; schools, roads, and welfare facilities developed in the north as never before, bringing with them new opportunities for the young, as well as jobs and contracts for their elders.

As long as the C.P.P. remained in power, the two branches of the royal dynasty accepted Legislative Instrument No. 59. The only disturbance of the truce was caused by an attempt on the part of the Abudus to win favour among the grandsons (a category which included both the Yo-Na and the Karaga-Na) and, in effect, to undermine the settlement. In 1961 some members of the State Council produced a document which, ignoring the provisions of L.I.59, defiantly re-stated the rules of succession adopted in 1953. The Ya-Na claimed that this document had been approved unanimously by the State Council, but the Mion-lana said that it had not even been discussed: the signatures on the document had (he alleged) been obtained by misrepresentation of its contents.