The Nigerian foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama has disclosed plan by the Nigerian Government to drag Ghanaian government before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court to find a lasting solution to the feud that lead to evicting Nigerian traders by the Ghanaian authorities.
The Minister made the revelation yesterday in Abuja when the representatives of the Nigerian traders in Ghana under the auspice of Progressive Ambassadors of Nigeria (PAN), paid him a courtesy visit.
The PAN visited Onyeama to solicit for the federal government intervention into their predicament in the recurring attack on Nigerian traders in Ghana.
Onyeama disclosed to the group that upon receipt of the information, the Federal government has since swung into action immediately to look for a solution within the shortest possible time.
However, he noted that one of the measures to proffer a better solution was to involve the ECOWAS to seek its perspective towards the whole idea to establish whether the Ghanaian retail code was in conflict with the ECOWAS protocol.
The Minister further explained that it was important to get all facts of the situation before the Nigerian government can draw a valid conclusion through engaging the Ghanaian authorities.
In his statement, “What is the point of having an economic community if at the end of the day each country will make laws and regulations in contradiction of that?
“This has been a recurring nightmare and concrete measures need to be taken and the first step we want to take is to be sure of all the facts before we act.
“So, this will entail hearing from the Ghanaian government, the Minister of Trade is going to engage his Ghanaian counterpart.
“We have summoned the Ghanaian High Commissioner, who has given us information; we have the intention of recalling our Charge d affaires in Ghana for consultations.
“We need to get the facts because she is on the ground there.
Onyeama explained that the next thing his office needs to look into is on reciprocity, citing Nigeria has created an enabling environment for Ghanaians to thrive in our clime, and so Nigerian government expect the same gesture.
He assured that the Nigerian traders are following this proactively, promising the matter would be resolved soon.
The Minister also said that ahead of the upcoming elections in Ghana, the Nigerian government hopes Nigerians will not be pawns in the whole electioneering process.
Speaking earlier, Mr Jasper Emenike, President of PAN had, on behalf of the Nigerian traders in Ghana, called for the urgent intervention of the Nigerian government to “de-escalate the burning tensions”.
He added that what is most urgent for the Nigerian authority to do is persuade Nigerian to douse the present tension to avoid confrontation.
He called on the Minister to table before the authorities the need to review the Nigerian foreign policy especially the one that affects the retail traders in Ghana.
