Government has called on angry members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) who are locking Nigerian shops in Kumasi to be cautious as the action could trigger a bigger trade impasse between the two nations.
According to Deputy Trade minister Carlos Ahenkorah, the sheer size of Nigeria’s economy requires that some amount of tact is applied when dealing with their citizens in Ghana.
On Wednesday, several shops belonging to Nigerians were closed down by irate members of GUTA. The closure that begun from Alarbar spread to Adhye and Kejetia
National Organiser of GUTA Clement Boateng told Morning Starr the Nigerians are disrespecting Ghanaian laws.
“Nigerians have made it clear to us due to ECOWAS protocol, they’ll consider their people first. We need our leaders to do same”.
However responding to the concerns, the deputy minister, who is currently in Nigeria over the border closure issue, said shutting down Nigerian shops is not the appropriate means of redress.
“We cannot use one sector of our economy to fight Nigeria…it won’t work. As a matter of fact, we need each other to thrive. What is happening in Kumasi is very sad. As we speak I’m in Nigeria and we’re doing everything possible to get the border issue resolved.There are products manufactured in Ghana and sold on the Nigerian Market. This improves the forex position of our country
“Their economy is six times ours, why go fighting them? when you need to appeal for their support. I want GUTA to understand that whether they like it or not, we need other economies to support what we do here. I’m pleading with GUTA, just take your time and let’s find a way to resolve with the issue. They don’t need to go trading blows, if you trade blows you only get the bigger guys to outsmart you,” he told Morning Starr host Francis Abban.