Hope has risen for amicable resolution of the lingering harsh trade policies against Nigerians in Ghana, with Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Ghanian counterpart, Alban Suman Kingsford pledging parliamentary interventions.
Both leaders while speaking after a closed door meeting on Wednesday, assured that with the planned return visit of Gbajabiaila to Ghana next week, all the nutty issues will be discussed and resolved.
At a media conference after the meeting, Gbajabiamila expressed concern over the One million dollar minimum capital requirement placed on foreign traders, under which majority of the affected were Nigerian traders, but disclosed he had gotten assurance that the Ghanaian parliament is already working on a legislation to address the issue.
“We’ve concluded discussion on the road map to achieving lasting peace. Even though as brothers, we still have issues here and there. It is how we’re able to address them that matters. We have succeeded in discussing the issues”, Gbajabiamila said, adding that it was hopeful that a joint parliamentary committee of the two countries would be set up to work out a long lasting solution.
The speaker also disclosed that the Ghanaian government had agreed to reconstruct the Nigerian embassy damaged earlier, “even though it has nothing to do with it”.
Also speaking on the protracted dispute, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana noted that assured that both sides will make sure all issues are resolved, adding that the leadership of the two parliaments have been proactive on the matter.
Earlier in the chamber, he told members of the House, to consider a review of the prohibition list that banned the importation of specific goods and commodities into the Nigerian market, from neighbouring countries including Ghana, disclosing that out of about US$460billion trade volume, only US$69billion was transacted among African nations in 2019, despite opportunities that were available in the continent.
Trade dispute: Hope for amicable resolution as Gbajabiamila meets Ghana’s head of parliament
