The Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says he is hopeful that Nigeria and Ghana will arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution over the trade disputes that erupted some weeks ago.
The Speaker, who led a delegation of lawmakers from the House of Representatives to Accra, said this when they were received by the Speaker of the Ghanaian parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye.
Gbajabiamila said the two-day visit to Ghana is meant to explore legislative diplomacy towards resolving the issues affecting both countries.
Alongside the Speaker on the legislative diplomatic mission to Ghana are the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Buba Yusuf; Chairman House Committee on Media, Benjamin Kalu; House Member of Ecowas Parliament, Bayo Balogun, Ikenna Elezieanya, Ephraim Nwuzi, and Balarabe Shehu.
Welcoming the Nigerian delegation, the Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Prof. Oquaye, who expressed confidence for an amicable resolution to the issues, said, “Ghana and Nigeria are like the tongue and the teeth and must interact amicably.”
Gbajabiamila, while thanking his counterpart for the warm welcome, emphasized that within the next two days of discussions, hopefully, they would be able to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution between both countries.
He also noted that since Nigeria and Ghana are like brothers, there would always be squabbles, healthy ones, that national interest on both sides will always come to play but it’s how the matters are resolved that is of interest.
He hinted that in Africa, one cannot talk about Nigeria without talking about Ghana, therefore, it has become incumbent on them as Leaders of Parliament to bring to bear the concept of Legislative diplomacy for fruitful results.
He noted that the weight and burden of the countries international relationship rest more on parliamentary shoulders, therefore, he is hopeful that the two countries would in two days, reach some resolutions that will settle the issues on the ground.
The statement noted that the Speaker and his delegation made their way to the Nigerian High Commission where they met with Leaders of the Nigerian Union of Traders and Selected Stakeholders to hear their experiences.
The leader of the Nigerian traders in Ghana, Chukwuemeka Levi Nnaji, informed the House Speaker and his team that Nigerian traders have been subjected to a lot of hardship by the Ghanaian authorities since 2007.
According to Chukwuemeka, despite complying with laid down Laws, Nigerians traders were always the target for harsh treatments whenever both countries are having issues.
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He also explained that Nigerian traders have their trades registered with appropriate agencies, pay their taxes as and when due, yet they are still subjected to harsh treatment by the Ghanaian Authorities.
Chukwuemeka also disclosed that with about 250 shops locked up by the authorities, the situation has led to the death of some of their members.
He appealed to the Speaker to follow up on the legislative diplomatic initiative in order to ensure that the resolutions arrived at are implemented by the Ghanaian authorities.
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
