The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTs) on Thursday appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of ECOWAS to intervene in the renewed hostility by the Ghanian Authorities against Nigerian traders in Ghana.
The Ghanian Authorities are reported to have through its Ministry of Trade and Industry closed down over 40 shops belonging to Nigerians.
It is not the first times that Nigerian Traders are experiencing this kind of treatment from Ghanian officials. It would be recalled that a similar incident in 2010 almost resulted into a diplomatic row between Ghana and Nigeria.
The traders claimed that officials of the ministry of trade and industry stormed their shops and compelled them to pack their goods and thereafter locked the shops before walking away with the keys.
NANTS President, Mr. Ken Ukaoha in a reaction to the crisis described it as “unfortunate development.”
He called on the governments of both countries to immediately confront the problem and nip it in the bud before it escalates into regional trouble.
Mr. Ukaoha who could not understand why Ghanian Authorities embarked on such action at this period in time said “Nigeria has been so resourceful and helpful to Ghana.”
“This is a time for the new government in Ghana to remember this. I can authoritatively tell you that the last election in Ghana took some financial and political flesh out of Nigeria.
“That shows the extent which Nigeria regards Ghana as a brother and neighbour in West Africa. This understanding must therefore be appreciated and reciprocated by Ghanian leaders throwing the emblem of peace at all fronts”.
While maintaining that there is the need for Region leaders to intervene in the crisis, Mr. Ukaoha called on them “to stand up and assume the political will to deal with this problem once and for all.
“Nigeria-Ghana relationship should not be allowed to snowball into a crises situation before the Commission wades into it”.
He lamented the absence of ECOWAS Trade Policy which ought to have harmonised all member states trade policies and give every ECOWAS citizen the right as empowered through the Treaty (and the relevant Protocols on Free Movement, Rights of Residence and the Rights of Establishment) that established the regional entity which he said was imperative.
He said “the faster they intervene, the better; else we may be having a spill-over effect of this protruding misunderstanding”.The President urged the Regional parliament to conclude fact finding mission it started at the instance of the memo written the association at the beginning of the hostility.
“While we appreciate the intervention of the ECOWAS Parliament which had in response to our initial Memo and Petition engaged the Ghanian Authorities in a fact finding mission on the subject matter, we still hope and appeal to the regional Parliament to conclude what it has started.
“The conclusion of the matter via Parliament is that the Ghana Investment Promotion Council Law (Act) 98 or so is a Parliamentary enactment and until the Ghanian Parliament amends it, the ugly incidence will continue to roar. It takes the Parliament to set aside any Act of the Parliament”.
“It is unfortunate that up till now, the ECOWAS Commission has refused to even respond to our Memos and letters to it on this very important matter.”
He therefore urged the commission not to allow the relationship between the two countries to degenerate into a crises situation before it wades into it.
