Edozie Udeojo, Abuja
Over Six Hundred (600) shops belonging to Nigerian traders in Ghana have been reopened to business by the Ghanaian government having been under lock and key for over six months.
Ken Ukaoha disclosed this on Solidarity visit to the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Tuesday, in Abuja.
According to a statement signed on Tuesday by Gabriel Odu of Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) ,Ukaoha believes that ECOWAS protocol of Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services shouldn’t be observed in breach but rather be observed in the spirit of brotherhood and diplomatic reciprocity.
Nigerian traders in Ghana came under attack in that country and their shops had been under lock and key for over six months.
Ukaoha disclosed the reopening of the shops yesterday during his visit to the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja.
Ukaoha’s visit to NIDCOM was to commend and appreciate Dabiri-Erewa for her untiring and unrelenting efforts in resolving the lockdown of Nigerian shops in Ghana for over six months.
On her part, Dabiri-Erewa commended President Muhammadu Buhari, stressing that the intervention was multi-level especially at the highest level of diplomacy and bilateral relations between Ghana and Nigeria.
She urged Nigerian traders in Ghana to always obey the laws of their host country and conduct themselves with respect and dignity.
The reopening of the shops may also have been connected with the effort being made by the Ghanaian Government to appease the Nigerian government in order to resolve the recent face-off with Nigeria over the demolition of a residential building within the premises of the Nigerian High Commission in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.