Through its Foreign Minister and Regional Integration head, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana has begged Nigeria to re-open its borders, as the nation has been heavily affected by Nigeria’s decision to close its borders.
Botchwey stated that Ghana was determined to make Nigeria rescind its decision by exploiting diplomatic avenues. She made this plea during a meeting with Nigeria’s High Commission to Ghana, Olufemi Michael Abikoye on Tuesday.
According to statistical entity Nairametrics, members of the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) recorded huge losses owing to the closure of the border. Several truckloads of goods were detained at the Seme border between Benin and Nigeria for weeks and returning to use seaports to transport the goods would only complicate the issues.
Further investigations by Nairametrics disclosed that Nigeria ranked highly as one of the major export destinations for Ghana, in ECOWAS. Also, Nigeria’s decision to close its southern borders is a contravention of the ECOWAS treaty on trade and exports of goods and services, according to President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng.
