Succour has come the way of the Nigerian business community in Ghana following the intervention of the deputy Senate President and former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
Against this backdrop, the government of the West African nation has promised to reconsider its policy on foreign businesses, which led to the sealing of over 400 Nigerian-owned shops in the Ashanti Region of the country.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu gave the indication on his Facebook page, @iamekweremadu, on Sunday, following discussions with the Regional Minister of Ashanti Region, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah.
According to Ekweremadu, the freedom of the peoples of the sub-region to ply their trades in any part of West Africa was central to the prosperity of ECOWAS.
It would be recalled that the Government of Ghana had in August this year ordered the sealing of over 400 shops belonging to Nigerians at the expiration of an eviction order issued by the Ministry of Trade.
Reacting to the development on his Facebook page, @iamekweremadu, on Sunday, Senator Ekweremadu said: “I spoke with the Regional Minister of Ashanti, Ghana, my brother and former Deputy at the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah, over the weekend on the pains of the Nigerian business community in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, on the sealing of over 400 Nigerian-owned shops in Ghana, especially in Kumasi.
“We shared thoughts on the need to uphold the spirit and letters of the various ECOWAS Protocols as well as the pursuit of the ECOWAS Vision 2020, which aims at a transition from an ECOWAS of States to ECOWAS of peoples.
“Osei-Mensah assured me of the safety of Nigerian businesses and people in Ghana, noting that he would personally take up the matter with the authorities to ensure that the shops were reopened immediately.
“Nigeria and Ghana have come a long way and it is my hope that we will continue to nurture this relationship for the mutual benefits of our respective countries.
“Meanwhile, I am in touch with the Nigerian business community in Ghana, including the National President, Nigerian Union of Traders Associations, Ghana, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nnaji, and have urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and continue to live in peace with their hosts in the spirit of African and ECOWAS brotherhood”.
