Worried about the security implications,
the government of Ghana has taken down campaign billboards belonging to
the two main Nigerian presidential candidates which were erected in
Accra, the Ghanaian capital.
According to reports, the order to take
down the billboards was given by Ghana’s national security agency and
was carried out over the weekend by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
Both Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the APC
candidate and Pres. Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP candidate, had erected
billboards and banners in strategic areas in Accra.
According to reports:
The decision to pull down the billboards was said to have come amid fears by some Ghanaians that their country could be drawn indirectly into the politics of Nigeria, with security implications, especially with the Boko Haram terrorists wreaking havoc in Nigeria.
Following the order by the National Security, according to GhanaWeb, a security expert at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Dr. Kwesi Annin, had indicated that Ghana had been saved from a possible attack by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, by pulling down the billboards put up in some parts of Accra.
He was quoted to have said that political elite in the country could have been targeted by Boko Haram if the political campaign in Ghana was not stopped.
He said, “I think it is critical that the National Security and Accra Metropolitan Assembly have listened to the concerns and voices raised by ordinary citizens that these billboards and some level of active political engagement might pose potential threat in the future.”
He said the removal of the billboards should not only be about Boko Haram, but also about whether or not laws governing the country permit foreign political entities to campaign in Ghana.
To avoid ‘wahala’, Ghana pulls down Buhari and Jonathan campaign billboards in Accra
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Oleh
healthandwealth
