Ghana’s National Security Agency is pulling down the campaign billboards of two Nigerian presidential candidates.
Billboards of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party featuring President Goodluck Jonathan, as well as those of the main opposition candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, located on Accra roads, were pulled down over the weekend by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
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.
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.
Meanwhile, an international relations expert, Dr. Vladmir Antwi Danso, said Ghana had been saved from severing future relations with Nigeria.
He was reported to have explained that if there was the perception that Ghana was supporting one candidate over the other, then the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria after the elections would be marred.
“What if after the elections the scales change, then the relationship between our country and Nigeria will also have some hiccups,” Danso said.
With over 75,000 Nigerians studying in Ghana and another 500,000 their for various reasons, the West African country is a viable to pitch for votes.