The New Africa Foundation’s maiden event titled ‘The Convention 2024: Igniting the Voices of Africa’ which was scheduled on Sunday, 7th of January 2024 at the Kwame Nkrumah Independence Square, coinciding with Ghana’s Constitution Day commemoration, was called off a few hours before the program was supposed to start.
The event which was set to encompass different facets of African excellence, including thoughtful leaders and artists including Professor P. L. O. Lumumba, Julius Malema, Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao, and Peter Obi before an audience including young student leaders from every part of the country was foiled due to the revocation of permission for the venue for the event by government.
The Diaspora Affairs Directorate at the Office of the President in a statement a few hours before the event indicated that the revocation of the permission for the use of the Kwame Nkrumah Independence Square was a result of a state event which was scheduled to take place at the same time of ‘The Convention 2024’.
Dr. Nadia Fynn, the Deputy Director of the Diaspora Affairs Directorate at the Office of the President who issued the statement further indicated that given the circumstances, the government would in due course refund the amount of Ten Thousand Ghana cedis (GHc10, 000.00) to the organizers of ‘The Convention 2024’.
“We write to revoke immediately the permission granted per our letter No.OP/PH/02 dated 11th November 2023 which approved your request to use the Black Star Square for the above event.”
Dr. Nadia Fynn
New Africa Foundation Accuses Government Of Masterminding The Cancellation Of Event
Meanwhile, the organizers of ‘The Convention 2024’, New Africa Foundation have accused the government of deliberately masterminding the cancellation of the event a few hours before it started despite being approved in November 2023.
According to the New Africa Foundation, the news of the revocation of the permission to use the Kwame Nkrumah Independence Square for the Convention 2024 came as a surprise to them when all the speakers including Professor P. L. O. Lumumba, Julius Malema, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, and Peter Obi, among thousands of patrons, had already thronged into the venue of the event.
“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. 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”.
New Africa Foundation
Professor PLO Lumumba one of the guest speakers of ‘The Convention 2024’ reacting to the news of the cancellation of the event expressed deep regret about the unfortunate development and justified how important the event would have meant for Ghana and the entire African continent.
According to Professor PLO Lumumba, Africans honour Ghana for the deeds and ideals of the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
“We came to Ghana to share a message of hope that Africa needs at this time and there is no better place to begin that message than Accra Ghana. It is in Accra that Osageyefo Kwame Nkrumah almost 67 years ago, spoke to the world and said the ‘Independence of Ghana is meaningless until it is linked with the independence of the African continent”.
Professor PLO Lumumba
From the foregoing, it is alleged that the cancellation of The Convention 2024 organized by the New Africa Foundation was politically instigated.
As such, this action does not only undermines Ghana’s widely acclaimed title as the beacon of good governance and democracy on the African Continent but equally affect President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party’s profession to the ideals of liberal democracy that champions the principles of protecting human rights, rule of law and building a free and democratic system of government.
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