Border Closure: Let Our Goods Enter Nigeria, Yours Are Entering Ghana - Ghanaian Minister

Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

Ghana's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Olufemi Michael Abikoye, Nigeria’s High Commission to Ghana. Source: GhanaWeb

Ghana’s Foreign Minister and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has appealed to the Nigerian government to let goods from Ghana enter Nigeria.

She said this in ligh of the recent closure of Nigeria’s western borders in order to curb the illegal entry of banned items.

Botchwey also said that the Ghanaian government would make use of all diplomatic avenues to get Nigeria to reopen its western borders for the free flow of goods from Ghana to the subregion.

Botchwey issued the plea during a meeting with Nigeria’s High Commission to Ghana, Olufemi Michael Abikoye on Tuesday, reports Ghanaweb.

She said, “As we speak, Nigerian goods are entering Ghana without any problem and I think that we should find ways of isolating the issues and the countries that you have problems with so that Ghana’s exports can enter your market without being lumped up with all these issues that have emerged.”

It was reported that the border closure had affected the activities of the Ghana Union Traders Association, whose members were lamenting the huge losses they had incurred as a result of the border closure.

The Ghanaian minister said that truckloads of goods from Ghana have been detained at the Seme border between Benin and Nigeria for weeks and coming back to use the seaports would present a major problem as the traders have already lost millions within the last few weeks.

The Nigerian High Commissioner, Olufemi Abikoye said Abuja would be willing to collaborate with Ghana to find a lasting solution to the situation.

“At the end of it, we’re helping our economies”, he noted.

Abikoye, however, pointed out that Ghana wasn’t the target of the border closure.