President Akufo-Addo has allayed fears of xenophobic tendencies in Ghana, saying nothing stops other Africans to stay and work in the country.

He said the impression being created abroad that there is a rise in xenophobia in Ghana does not conform in any way to the truth.

His statement comes after Nigerian high commissioner to Ghana, Micheal Olufemi Abikoye, blasted the Ghanaian media, claiming it is promoting xenophobia in the country.

But in bidding farewell to the Ivorian ambassador to Ghana, Bernard Ehui-Koutua, Nana Addo said Ghana remains peaceful as it has always been.

“There is no xenophobia in Ghana," the president said.

"we are not a xenophobic State.

"We are the pan-African nation that has opened its doors to all Africans, and they are not going to be the object of any hate campaign in Ghana.”

At a short event on Friday Nana Addo requestre the outgoing Ambassador, who also doubles as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana to “convey this message to President Ouattara, that Ghana continues to remain open and welcoming, especially to our brothers and sisters from all parts of the continent.”

“What we do insist on, which is what every nation insists on, is that our own domestic laws are respected by those who come into our country, and, in so saying, we are no different from other people,” he added.

“We continue to remain an open society, welcoming, especially, to our kith and kin on this continent. So, I will like you, in very, very strong terms, to convey these sentiments of mine to your President back home,” the President added.

Sad day for Ghana

Describing Ambassador Ehui-Koutua’s departure as a sad day for Ghana, President Akufo-Addo stated that the outgoing Ambassador to Ghana “conducted himself with great dignity, and ended up as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps”.

With Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire bonded by ties of common blood, common history, common ethnicity and common geography, the President noted that “one of the most important, diplomatic, strategic, political relations that Ghana can have with any country is with the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire.”

Agreements such as the “Strategic Partnership Agreement” signed by the two leaders of the two countries, Presidents Alasanne Ouattara and Nana Akufo-Addo, coupled with the substantial convergence of views of the two leaders on regional, continental and global matters, were highlighted by President Akufo-Addo as examples of the successes chalked by Ambassador Ehui-Koutua.

“I am looking forward to deepening and strengthening the ties between our two countries. We are at the centre of integration efforts both in the region and on the continent. We will continue to walk side by side as we have been doing these past years,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo also bid farewell to Mohammed Hussain Al-Failakawi, outgoing Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Ghana; to Mohammed Farahat, outgoing Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana; and to Hugues Chantry, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana.