Nigerian traders say Ghanaian govt demanding $1m ‘registration fee’
Chukwuemeka Nnaji, the president of Nigerian Traders Union in Ghana, on Saturday decried Ghanaian authorities’ closure of shops owned by Nigerians doing business in the country.
Mr Nnaji, who made
this known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),
urged the Federal Government to intervene in the matter.
He said that shops
belonging to Nigerian traders in Accra were locked up by Ghanaian authorities
who demanded cash payment of one million dollars from them before the shops
would be opened.
According to him, an
inter-ministerial Tasktask force went round on August 10 to identify shops
owned by Nigerian traders and requested registration of business taxes, resident
permit, standard control and Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC)
registration.
“Most of our members
do not have the GIPC registration, because it requires one million dollars cash
or equity and they gave us 14 days within which to regularise.
“As of Thursday,
they had moved to another area and started locking up shops of Nigerian
traders.
“Nigerian life in
Ghana matters. This is livelihood of Nigerians being destroyed by Ghanaian
Authorities. This is not being perpetrated by a trade union, but Ghanaian
authorities.
“They demanded that
we must employ a minimum of 25 skilled Ghanaian workers and must not trade in
commodities that Ghanaian traders have applied to trade in,” Mr Nnaji said.
“The humiliation of
Nigerians is getting out of hand. We are calling on the Nigerian government to
come to our aid.
Post a Comment