The High Commissioner said he fails to see a motive for this move since erecting billboards asking Nigerians to go home and vote was not in disregard of any of Ghana's laws. “If they contravened the laws of Ghana and they are demolished, yes I would understand because I would not support lawlessness and recklessness, but if they seek [sought] permission of AMA, and they approve of it, very well and good…” he said.
The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ademola Oluseyi Onafowokan, has expressed disapproval at the decision of the National Security outfit and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to demolish billboards belonging to Nigerian political parties. The High Commissioner said he fails to see a motive for this move since erecting billboards asking Nigerians to go home and vote was not in disregard of any of Ghana's laws. “If they contravened the laws of Ghana and they are demolished, yes I would understand because I would not support lawlessness and recklessness, but if they seek [sought] permission of AMA, and they approve of it, very well and good…” he said.
As the Nigerian elections warm to a climax, billboards bearing campaign messages of some major political parties in Nigeria began to emerge in the capital, prompting a debate on the legitimacy of this campaign mode. A senior fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), Vladimir Antwi-Danso, described the phenomenon as a security threat to Ghana. The international relations expert argued that since the relationship between some former leaders in Ghana and Nigeria are not too warm, allowing the mounting of billboards could have dire consequences, not just on the international scene, but in local politics.
Other personalities, including the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong. Mr. Agyapong said Ghana risks a ‘possible annexation’ by Nigeria as a result of the giant billboards being erected by the political parties. He called on the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) and the National Security outfit to pull down these billboards at once.
Over the weekend, operatives of the AMA who claimed to be working under instructions from the National Security authority brought down the billboards, courting the displeasure of the representative of the Nigerian government in Ghana.
“…even in Britain and America, Nigerians are advertising there supporting different political parties, they have supporters in Ghana and they have to be sensitized so they know about whom to vote for…” he argued.
In a related development, the Conventional People's Party has piped in calling for a stop to the demolition of the billboards. A poster calling on the government to check against xenophobia and rooting for a more united Africahas been released by the party.