AN order issued by the Ghanaian authorities for Nigerian-owned small businesses based in Ghana to remit the sum of $300, 000 as fees or face eviction from the country has caught the attention of the
leadership of the Economic Community for West African States.
Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu addressed the issue on Tuesday while hosting the members of the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs.
Led by Ms. Abike Dabiri-Erewa who is the chairperson of the House committee, the committee criticized the move by the Ghanaian government and sought the support of the ECOWAS parliament to resist the order from going into effect by its July 1st deadline, saying it is against West African norms of good relations upon which the ideals of ECOWAS was founded.
“If the Ghanian authorities want to expel Nigerian traders, they should say it directly and stop hiding under the guise that they are enforcing their national laws,” said Ms Dabiri-Erewa.
She called on Senator Ekweremadu to prevail on the Ghanian government as long as the business men were law abiding and had not broken any Ghanian laws.
It will be recalled that sometime last year, Ghanian authorities had asked foreigner petty businessmen and women living in the country to pay the said sum of ($300, 000), before they will be allowed to do any form of business.
Available statistics reveal that most of the African migrants doing petty businesses like trading of African clothes and wrappers in Ghana are Nigerians, and the same is true of the situation in Nigeria where as many Ghanaians are employed in the education sector as teachers, while others work as artisans in various fields.
Three hundred thousand dollars in Nigerian equivalent is almost fifty million Naira (N50, 000 000).
Hon Akpan Umoh from Akwa Ibom State who appeared more offended by the development stated that the Nigerian government will not be slow to take decisive action like that taken during the recent impasse with South Africa.
Umoh disclosed that if the embarrassment meted out to Nigerian citizens in Ghana is not put to stop then the House will take decisive reciprocal action. He added that Ghana must recognize that she is expected to treat Nigerians with respect as fellow West Africans.
Another member of the delegation, Hon Titsi Ganama from Adamawa State appealed to the Parliament to help facilitate the transfer of Nigerians serving various jail terms in Ghanaian prisons back to the country.
Senator Ekweremadu while addressing the delegation stated in clear the terms that the issue of prisoner exchange is out of the mandate of the Ecowas parliament. He said that it is only possible if there is a bilateral agreement in place regarding prisoner exchange.
He assured the committee that the issue of Nigerian traders in Ghana had already been taken up since last year. Senator Ekweremadu said that the deadline given by the Ghanian government will not hold since the parliament had already prevailed on the Ghanian delegation in the parliament to convince its government to extend the deadline by four months pending the determination of the issue by the parliament.
He stated that if Ghana goes on ahead to evict Nigerian business men resident in the country, then it will face the wrath of ECOWAS and be sanctioned.
Senator Ekweremadu concluded by calling on Nigerians living in the diaspora to obey the laws of the countries where they are resident in. He disclosed that Government will not be able to act anytime Nigerians break laws of foreign countries where they are resident in.