Ghana reopens 600 Nigerian shops locked up for 6 months

Six months after, the Ghanaian government has reopened 600 shops belonging to Nigerian traders which were locked up.

The shops had been under lock and key since last December following a disagreement with the traders.

The President, National Association of Nigerian Traders, Dr Ken Ukaoha, disclosed this during a solidarity visit to the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ukaoha stated that the visit to NIDCOM was to commend Dabiri-Erewa for her “untiring and unrelenting efforts in resolving the lockdown of Nigerian shops in Ghana for over six months.”

According to a statement by a NIDCOM information officer, Gabriel Odu, Ukaoha argued that the ECOWAS Protocol of Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services should not be observed in breach but in the spirit of brotherhood and diplomatic reciprocity.

Dabiri-Erewa stated that the intervention for the re-opening of the shops was at the highest level of diplomacy and bilateral relations between Ghana and Nigeria.

“Mrs Dabiri-Erewa urged Nigerian traders in Ghana to always obey the laws of their host country and conduct themselves with respect and dignity,” the statement said.