Gov’t Tears Down Billboard Of Unmaksed Akufo Addo -In Alleged Backfired Campaign Gimmick

It appears the face President Akufo Addo would never be seen fully in public till the end of the Covid-19, as the government orders the tearing down of a Covid-19 awareness billboard that showed the President bare-faced.

The billboards which have sprung up at several locations in the country has was erected by renowned outdoor advertising company DDP and it read: “Wear a mask wherever you go. It will help protect you from the virus.”

In a twitter storm today, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah announced that a particular billboard with an unmask President Akufo Addo will be pulled down.

 “We appreciate all who seek to help the government communicate at this time. But please do well to engage with the government on imaging and messaging. This billboard of the President without a mask is not from the government. Note that at his last public appearance the President wore his masks till his speech. We have asked city authorities to pull this down.” he said in a tweet.

“We encourage the well-intentioned advertisers to engage with us directly to avoid such mishaps in the future,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah added.

Interestingly, there are several billboards with the same message and with an unmasked President Akufo Addo dotted across the country. These billboards have logos of the Ministry of Information embossed on them, indicating a possible endorsement by the Ministry of Information and not a random act of charity by DDP.

Critics speculate that the billboards are subtle political campaign billboards that have backfired on the government.

Meanwhile, some cross-section of the Ghanaian public are beginning to question the possible costs incurred in these botched billboards. Others have questioned the insistence of the government in having a masked face of the President across the country, “..people don’t put on condoms when advertising about condoms,” a commentator responded to the Information Minister in a sarcastic tweet.

The Ghanaian Health Ministry has ordered the compulsory wearing of nose masks in public places in Ghana as a means of combating the ravaging Covid-19.