Nigerian businessmen in Ghana, under the aegis of Nigerian Traders Union in Ghana, have cried out over the closure of their shops by Ghanaian authorities.
The traders are calling for the intervention of the Federal Government.
Chairman of the group, Chukwuemeka Nnaji, who spoke to journalists, said shops belonging to Nigerian traders in Accra were locked up by Ghanaian authorities who are demanding cash payment of $1 million from them before the shops would be reopened.
Nnaji explained that an inter-ministerial task force went round on August 10 to identify shops owned by Nigerian traders and request for registration of business taxes, resident permit, standard control and Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) registration.
He said, “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.
“The humiliation of Nigerians is getting out of hand. We are calling on the Nigerian government to come to our aid. We have legally registered our businesses and we pay taxes.”
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