The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has reacted to claims made by some Nigerian traders who protested at the Nigerian High Commission’s residence in Accra a week ago over the closure of their shops for the past eight months.
According to the President of the Association, Dr. Joseph Obeng, the action taken by his outfit is in line with the law as well as that of the ECOWAS protocol which does not allow Nigerian traders import goods into the country to sell.
Obeng further said that their shops would remain closed until they adhere to the laid down rules governing trading in Ghana.
In an interview with GhanaWeb, Obeng said, “Whatever they are saying should be backed by the law. We are not doing things outside the law. Whatever we are doing is within the law and even within the tenants of the ECOWAS protocol itself.
“They are not supposed to trade in goods outside the sub-region and the fact that they continue to import goods and then come and sell here goes against the protocols itself and they will never be allowed. If they were goods representing their home countries, then, of course, we’d say it is within the tenets of the ECOWAS protocols.”
He added that if the Nigerians want to import goods into the sub-region, they would have to comply with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) laws that allow foreigners to operate as well as import goods for their business.
On Monday, June 22, 2020, some Nigerian traders joined protests against what they labelled as unfair treatment in Ghana.
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According to them, aside from the demolition of a property near the High Commissioner’s residence, their shops have been closed for the past 8 months.
Some of their placards read: ‘We condemn the demolition of our staff building in Ghana’; ‘Nigerians’ shops locked up in circle Accra 8 good months’; ‘Nigerians can no longer breathe in Ghana’.
