Nigerian couple turned away from registration centre in Ketu South

A Nigerien couple has been turned away from registering in the ongoing limited voter registration exercise being held at the Ketu South Municipal office of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The man and his wife, who had been resident at Aflao for the past 26 years, on Saturday showed up and queued awaiting their turn to register for the Ghanaian Voter Identification card to enable them to vote in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections next year.

Mr Kofi Sakyi Boampong, Municipal EC Officer for Ketu South who made them out as non-Ghanaians, told them to leave explaining to them that the exercise was meant for Ghanaians and that it excluded foreigners residing in the country.

The EC Officer, who is also a lawyer, advised the couple to consider the option of legally acquiring Ghanaian citizenship should they so desire saying, until then, they had no business attempting to register as voters.

“He came with his wife, who is also a Nigerien to register. He said he came to Ghana in 1997, built a house here in Aflao, and that all his children were given birth to while residing here.

“I made them leave as this exercise is for Ghanaians. I told them if they want to become Ghanaians, they should contact the Aflao Command of the Ghana Immigration Service and take the necessary steps,” Mr Boampong spoke to Ghana News Agency (GNA).

“I spotted them during one of my routine checks on the queue to ensure orderliness and to also identify the elderly and persons with disability to attend to them. Their demeanor and posture gave them out and so, I got closer to them, and upon questioning, they confessed that they’re Nigeriens,” the EC Officer explained.

Meanwhile, attempts by GNA to get the identity of the couple failed as they were unwilling to mention their names.