President John Dramani Mahama has allayed the fears of the Nigerian community in Ghana and the Federal Government of the West African country that there will be no mass deportations.During a courtesy call on him by Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nige­ria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, in Accra on Friday, Presi­dent Mahama assured that Ghana has no intention of resorting to mass expulsions, emphasising the shared history and inter-depen­dence of the two countries.President Mahama reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to ECOWAS protocols, dismissing any anxieties in Nigeria over any potential mass deportation of its citizens from Ghana following the emergence of a viral video.The viral video in which a group of Ghanaians were on a protest march calling for the mass depor­tation of Nigerians, comes on the back of the announcement of the establishment of a Igbo Kingdom in Ghana by the leader of the Igbo Community, Eze Jude Chukwudi Ihenetu.That video, Madam Odumeg­wu-Ojukwu said had resulted in the "anxieties" of the Nigerian people and government.That, she said, had led to emer­gency sessions in Nigeria's Nation­al Assembly and traditional rulers instructing relatives in Ghana to return home.However, President Mahama said those anxieties were needless as Ghana had no intention of mass deporting Nigerians.Describing Ghana and Nigeria as "siblings of the same parents" whose "destinies are joined togeth­er", President Mahama acknowl­edged the historical relations between the two countries.He recalled past unfortunate incidents of mass deportations in both countries-Ghana in the 1960s and Nigeria in the 1980s- and stressed they must remain in the past."I think that that is a part of our past, and it's an unfortunate past that we want to put behind us, and I believe that none of our two countries should mass deport our citizens ever again," he said."We are members of the ECOWAS, and we have the ECOWAS protocol that allows our citizens to travel freely between our countries."President Mahama noted that though there have been isolated incidents and some individuals involved in criminal activity, such cases must be addressed through proper legal procedures, not through collective punishment or mass deportation.According to President Mahama, any foreign resident in Ghana who commits a crime would be held individually liable and sanctioned.He clarified that the video in which Eze Jude Chukwudi Ihenetu was seen discussing land acquisi­tion for a kingdom is a 2013 video and not a recent development.In his view, the video is "a bit of a storm in a teacup," and assured the Nigerian delegation that Gha­naian law governs the establishment of traditional councils, making such external claims impossible.Minister Odumegwu-Ojukwu commended President Mahama for de-escalating a potentially volatile situation, noting that the initial fears of widespread unrest upon their arrival in Accra proved unfounded. BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI