Senate orders probe into closure of Nigerian businesses in Ghana

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday resolved to conduct an investigation into the alleged closure of over 600 Nigerian shops and businesses by Ghanaian authorities.

The Senate, which directed its Committees on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment to liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the status of over 600 Nigerian shops and businesses in Ghana that were allegedly affected, took the decision sequel to a motion raised by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), was alleged to have on December 2, 2019, shut down shops and other business premises belonging to Nigerians in the country.

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Ruling on the motion, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said it was the responsibility of government to ensure the protection of its citizens all over the world, adding that Nigeria must engage Ghanaian authorities to know what went wrong and proffer lasting solutions.

While debating the motion, Ubah condemned the alleged ill-treatment against Nigerian traders and business owners in the neighbouring West African country, noting that at the end of 2010, Nigerian businesses accounted for 60 per cent of foreign investments in Ghana, especially those from fellow African nations.

He also lamented that the once flourishing economic relations between Nigeria and Ghana had come under repeated threats following recent hostile posture of Ghanaian authorities and indigenous traders’ union towards Nigerian traders.

Describing the development as worrisome, Ubah insisted that since Ghana and Nigeria, are members of ECOWAS, they both have reciprocal obligations under the ECOWAS Protocol to their respective citizens to reside and do business within their territories without molestation.

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