Nigeria will no longer tolerate any harassment from Ghana – FG
The Nigerian Government has warned the Ghanaian authority that it will no longer tolerate any from of harassment on any Nigerian citizen.
Lai Mohammed made this remark while reacting to recent attacks meted on Nigerians residing in Ghana.
In a statement released today Friday, August 28, Mohammed said over one million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria and they are not being maltreated. He stressed that the Nigerian government will no longer tolerate the harassment of Nigerians. He added that the Federal government is already considering a number of measures to take to address the situation.
See his statement below:
”The Nigerian Government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities, and will no longer tolerate such.
In this regard, the Federal Government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation.
The Federal Government has been documenting the acts of hostility towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Ghanaian authorities. These include:
– Seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years. This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention.
– Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of
the Vienna Convention.
– Aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana. Between Jan. 2018 and Feb. 2019, 825 Nigerians were deported from
Ghana.
– Closure of shops belonging to Nigerians. Over 300 Nigerians shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018; over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and, currently, over 250 Nigerians shops have been locked.
– Residency Permit requirements, for which the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees, far higher than the fees charged by
the Nigerian Immigration Service. These include the compulsory Non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal); Medical examinations, including for Covid-19 which is newly-introduced (about
US$120), and payment for residency permit (US$400 compared to the N7,000 being paid by Ghanaians for residency card in Nigeria)
– Outrageous stipulations in the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre
Act. When the Act was initially promulgated in 1994, a foreigner is required to invest at least US$300,000 by way of equity capital and
also employ 10 Ghanaians. This Act has now been amended twice, with the 2018 GIPC Act raising the minimum capital base for foreign-owned businesses to US$1m. Though targeted at foreigners, it seems GIPC’s
definition of foreigners is Nigerians. The GIPC Act also negates the ECOWAS Protocol.
– Media war against Nigerians in Ghana. The negative reportage of
issues concerning Nigerians resident in Ghana by the Ghanaian media is fuelling an emerging xenophobic attitude towards Nigerian traders and Nigerians in general. The immediate fallout is the incessant harassment and arrest of Nigerian traders and closure of their shops.
– Harsh and openly-biased judicial trial and pronouncement of indiscriminately-long jail terms for convicted Nigerians. There are
currently over 200 Nigerians in the Nsawam Maximum prison in Ghana
alone.
The Federal Government will like to put on record the fact that even though over 1 million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not
being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana.
Also, Even though the main reason given for the seizure of Federal Government property at No. 10, Barnes Road in Accra is the non-renewal of lease after expiration, the Ghanaian authorities did not give Nigeria the right of first refusal or the notice to renew the lease.
By contrast, the lease on some of the properties occupied by the Ghanaian Mission in Nigeria has long expired, yet such properties have not been seized.
Nigeria has time after time demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana. But indications, especially in recent times, are that Nigeria’s stance is now being taken for granted and its citizens being made targets of harassment and objects of ridicule.
This will no longer be tolerated under any guise.”
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who is talking
Well spoken.
It’s not a matter of tolerance or intolerance. Federal government should stand up to their responsibilities, how many are they that they are tormenting us. They (federal government) always where they ought to talk which is unfair.
Are they just waking up from their slumber? What are they doing or steps taking for a month now? Why are we doing this to ourselves, maltreating us in Nigeria and outside Nigeria? It’s not a matter of fighting, they take them to the ECOWAS court and request for compensation of the damages being done to us. I think it will be better like that.
We need more of action not words.
Let the Federal Government action speak for them.
It’s needed.
We are now receiving words from just Ghana,we do help its very bad.
Let them know we were one the giant of Africa.
Less words and more of action
Is what we need now.
Have you ever wondered which hurts the most? Saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing, and wishing you had?……nigeria has improve more than them…
can you imagine just Ghana of yesterday that Nigeria helped. Nigerian government should do something
This country is so friendly to foreigners yet we are treated otherwise.
Every country so to say now is using and making Nigerians objects of ridicule in their various nations
Our so called government can be said to be the cause. When you don’t value your citizens, how do you expect that outsiders will value them
The police here, the army here, all security outfits here kill us at will for no just reason and you think that outsiders will not emulate them and treat us the same way?
If our so called leaders have been running the affairs of this nation fine as it is supposed to be, I don’t think that most of the people of Nigeria that find themselves in other people’s countries would have been there. They mostly go out in search of greener pasture which would have been accessible right here in Nigeria
See ordinary Ghana here is also dealing with us
It is a great pity. Our government should try to fix our own country as Ghana leaders have fixed their own… I believe we have all it takes to make Nigeria great if the political will is there
Well spoken Nigeria remain african giant lets behave like one