Dr. Clement Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa South, has described the scenes at Independence Square when guests of the Convention were barred from entering the venue as a misuse of state power.
Several attendees who arrived at the Independence Square for The Convention programme were barred from entering due to armed military personnel and police officers stationed at the gate.
The Pan African event, The Convention 2024, was subsequently cancelled with only a few hours remaining on the schedule.
The ceremony was slated for today, Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Independence Square, to coincide with Ghana’s Constitution Day.
But the organisers in a statement revealed that the government directed them to call off the event a few hours before its commencement.
According to the New Africa Foundation, the event’s organisers, all of the speakers, including Professor P. L. O. Lumumba, Julius Malema, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, and Peter Obi, as well as thousands of patrons, had gathered at Independence Square for the event when they were requested to cancel it.
“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.”
In response, Dr. Apaak slammed the administration for what he called an abuse of power.
The detective also disgusted him, especially since January 7th marks the 31st anniversary of our Constitution.
According to him, Ghana’s democracy has regressed under the administration of Nana Addo and Bawumia.
He added that what happened does not augur well for Ghana’s democracy.
His tweet he posted on X read: “Such misuse of state power by this failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia gov’t doesn’t augur well for our democracy and must be condemned. Doesn’t the 1992 constitution guarantee freedom of speech and association? Ironically, today is CONSTITUTION Day. Our democracy has indeed retrogressed under this gov’t”.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
