Ghana and Nigeria have agreed to establish reciprocal legislation known as “friendship act” to find a lasting solution to trade hostilities between nationals of the two countries spanning more than a decade.
The deal was reached between the Speakers of Ghana’s Parliament and the House of Representatives of Nigeria on Thursday following a two-day bilateral discussion between the most powerful nations within the West African sub-region.
A joint communique issued after the discussions stated,
Quote
“a joint committee will be established to compose of members of both legislations to explore the possible passage of reciprocal legislation which could potentially be called the Ghana-Nigeria Friendship Act, which shall propose the Ghana-Nigeria Business Council to provide a legal framework to sustain the friendship and benefits of the two nations.”
Nigeria’s chairman of the media and publicity committee of the house of representatives Benjamin Kalu announced the trade and industry committees of the respective houses have been tasked to work out the modalities of the process.
The feud between Ghanaian traders and their Nigerian counterparts in Accra began in 2007.
Then, the Ghanaian traders accused Nigerian traders of “taking over” retail trade reserved only for locals.
The Ghanaian traders insist their West African counterparts had breached the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) Act and want the Ghanaian government to enforce the legislation.
“They call us thugs. What we are saying is that what they seek to portray to Ghanaians is that our actions are unlawful. What we are also saying is that whatever thing we are doing is legal,” President of the Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) Joseph Obeng said.
The non-enforcement of the GIPC Act by the relevant authorities compelled the Ghanaian traders to arrogate the law unto themselves by locking up shops belonging to Nigerians in the cities of Accra and Kumasi.
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