The New Africa Foundation, organisers of ‘The Convention’, a Pan African event, which was to take place on January 7 at the Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana has said that the programme has been cancelled.
A press release issued late January 7 evening by the organisers said the event, themed, ‘Igniting the voices of Africa,’ was stopped by the Government.
“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 cancellation 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,” the statement said.
The organisers therefore apologized for the latest development.
“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,” the statement said.
The renowned African personalities scheduled to have spoken at the event were; P.L.O.Lumumba from Kenya, Peter Obi from Nigeria, Julius Malema from South Africa and Dr Arikana from Zimbabwe.
The organisers indicated that, “More to follow…”
Meanwhile, the Diaspora Affairs Directorate at the Office of the President has explained why the programe was cancelled.
According to Dr Nadia Adongo Fynn, Deputy Director of the Diaspora Affairs Directorate, the decision to withdraw the permission granted for hosting the event was necessitated by an “unforeseen” state event scheduled to take place at the same venue.
In a press release, Dr Fynn stated, “We write to revoke immediately the permission granted per our letter No.OP/PH/02 dated November 11, 2024, 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.”
