The office of Nana Akufo-Addo, the Ghanaian president, waited for the day of a youth convention before telling organisers to cancel the event.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate and Nigeria’s most popular political figure in 2023, had flown into Ghana to speak at the event on Sunday.
‘The Convention’, a pan-African event, was the brainchild of the New Africa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
FIJ saw video footage of several hundred invitees expressing displeasure with the government after they were notified of a cancellation of the event on the same day.
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The New Africa Foundation was forced to release a statement to notify its guests on the same day. The statement reads:
“We regret to inform you that the Government has cancelled the above Pan African Event which was to take place today at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana.
“All the special guests have arrived and thousands of people have come from all over Ghana as well as around the globe for this historic event. We have just been informed of the cancelation of this event a couple of hours before its commencement. This event was approved by the government in November of 2023.
“This came as a shock to us and a devastation to our dignitaries and special guests who flew in from around the world. We at the New Africa Foundation apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused to our audience and the public alike. Please be aware that this situation is and was beyond our control.”
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The Ghanaian ministry of interior had not responded to FIJ’s mail and texts at press time.
In a letter seen by FIJ, Akufo-Addo’s office told the New Africa Foundation that the venue it had granted permission to accommodate the event was needed for an unforeseen state event. The letter reads:
“We write to revoke immediately the permission granted per our letter No.OP/PH/02 dated 11th November, 2023, which approved your request to use the Black Star Square for the above event.
“This decision has been necessitated by an unforeseen State Event scheduled to take place at the venue. Under the circumstances the amount of Ten Thousand Ghana cedis (Ghc10, 000.00) paid by your office for the use of the venue will be refunded.”
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FIJ has found that the Ghanaian government knew about the same state event it claimed was unforeseen for days but the president’s office did nothing.
On the Ghanaian ministry of interior website, FIJ found that Ghana had a state event lined up for Sunday and Monday. However, the state event in question was not unforeseen. In a statement signed and published on January 2, the ministry wrote:
“The general public is hereby informed that Sunday, 7th January 2024 marks Constitution Day which is a Statutory Public Holiday.
“However, in view of the fact that 7th January,2024 falls on a Sunday, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, has by Executive Instrument (E.I), in accordance with Section 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, (Act 601) declared Monday, 8th January, 2024 as an additional Public Holiday and should be observed as such throughout the country.”
Akufo-Addo’s office’s revocation of the permission given to the New Africa Foundation for the venue on Sunday effectively forced the organisers to cancel their event.
Critics have faulted the Ghanaian government’s decision to rescind its agreement with the New Africa Foundation so abruptly. Some said that the Ghanaian leader sought to prevent an Obi-like campaign against failed leadership in the country.
