By FORTUNE ABANG

Nigerian traders in Ghana say the recent wave of xenophobic attacks against foreigners in South Africa has brought a relief to their community in the country.

The President of Nigeria Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG), Mr Evaristus Nwankwo, disclosed this on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He spoke against the backdrop of measures taken by Ghanaian authorities to address strain in Nigeria-Ghana citizens’ relations, including tensions at the citizen-to-citizen level.

Nwankwo said the Ghanaian government had succeeded in dousing agitation by some Ghanaians calling for Nigerians to leave the country.

“I think what happened in South Africa has also become a respite for us here in Ghana, because the South Africans did not spare the Ghanaians as well,” he said.

He explained that many Ghanaians, after seeing what their nationals experienced in South Africa, began questioning calls for Nigerians to go.

“For now, such agitation has died down,” he added.

The NUTAG president said an agreement reached between the Nigerian and Ghanaian governments had helped calm tensions and remained one of the best solutions employed so far.

He noted that Ghanaians had agreed to grant concessions to Nigerians on the proposed one million dollars registration fee, particularly those residents in the country since 2020.

Nwankwo recalled that a former Ghanaian trade minister had unilaterally changed the bilateral agreement, directing that shop rents owned by Nigerians would not be renewed on expiry.

“Since the current government administration came on board, everything has died down. The way the government is receiving Nigerians here is wonderful,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to expedite the appointment of a substantive High Commissioner to Ghana to strengthen efforts aimed at protecting the interests of Nigerians in the country. (NAN)

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