The Federal government has warned Ghana that it would no longer fold its arms and watch the West African country maltreat its citizens.
Expressing worry at the treatment of Nigerians in Ghana, the government said the continuous harassment of its nationals who are trading in the country will no longer be tolerated.
A statement by Information Ministry revealed that Nigeria is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation.
The statement said: “The Federal government has been documenting the acts of hostility towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Ghanaian authorities.
These include:
– Seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years. This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention;
– Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of the Vienna Convention;
– Aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana. Between Jan. 2018 and Feb. 2019, 825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana;
– Closure of shops belonging to Nigerians. Over 300 Nigerians shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018; over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and, currently, over 250 Nigerians shops have been locked;
– Residency Permit requirements, for which the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees, far higher than the fees charged by the Nigerian Immigration Service. These include the compulsory Non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal); Medical examinations, including for COVID-19, which is newly-introduced (about US$120), and payment for residency permit (US$400 compared to the N7,000 being paid by Ghanaians for residency card in Nigeria).
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre laws bar foreigners from retail trade but foreigners in the sector, especially Nigerians, say the law is against the ECOWAS protocols on free trade.
Recently, 92 foreign-owned shops suspected to belong to Nigerians were closed down in Kumasi, the capital of Ghana’s Ashanti region.
