**Walewale is not the regional capital of the North East Region — Nalerigu is.** This is one of the most common mix-ups about Ghana's newest region, so let me set it straight properly. The North East Region was carved out of the old Northern Region in 2019, when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's government created six new regions from the existing ten. Its capital was designated as **Nalerigu**, seat of the famous Nalerigu Defence Wall and the traditional headquarters of the Mamprugu Kingdom under the Nayiri. Walewale, by contrast, is the capital of the **West Mamprusi Municipal District** — a large, busy town on the Bolgatanga–Tamale highway, roughly 90 km north of Tamale. It's a major crossroads town: the junction where the road to Bolgatanga and the road toward Nalerigu and the far north-east meet. It's also the hometown of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia's family roots — his father, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, was a prominent chief and politician from the Walewale area, and the town is well known as a stronghold of the Mamprugu traditional area. So the geography is: **Nalerigu** is the regional capital (administrative and traditional seat), while **Walewale** is the commercial and transport hub of West Mamprusi. Both sit within the Mamprugu Kingdom, whose overlord is the Nayiri, based at Nalerigu. A useful way to remember it — the Akan say *"Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a, yenkyi"* (Sankofa): go back and fetch what you missed. The North East Region's capital is Nalerigu; Walewale is its bustling gateway town. If you're planning travel or need the regional administration, Nalerigu is where you're headed.