Nigerian traders doing business in Ghana have petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan for urgent intervention as the Ghanaian Government has given them a four-month ultimatum to comply with its trade law or face sanction.
In the petition letter signed by the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), and the Nigeria Union of Traders Association, Ghana (NUTAG), President Ken Ukaoha and NUTAG Secretary General, Comrade Jasper Emenike, said: �His Excellency, we wish to note our realization that during every impending general election in Ghana, Nigerian Traders are always used as scapegoats by diverse political interest groups in order to win the sympathy of the local voters (who are largely traders).
This was the same situation which manifested in 2007 Ghana general elections and is clearly manifesting in the follow-up events towards (this year�s) 2012 Presidential elections.�
It will be recalled that two years ago the Ghanaian government had dusted a law; the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Foreign Investment Act 1994 (Act 478), which specifically directed that �foreigners,� including Nigerians willing to trade in Ghana must register such business with minimum required capital of not less than USD 300,000 (amounting to about N46 million)or its� equity.
The law also directs that such businesses are not allowed to operate within the main business designated streets in town for these �foreigners� as such places are wholly reserved for Ghanaian citizens only, in addition to several other conditions.
�This situation caused many businesses belonging to Nigerians to be shut down by the Ghanaian Authorities, with the use of intimidation and harassment�s resulting in untold losses and unquantifiable hardship to some Nigerian traders.�
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