Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has condemned the renewed attacks on Nigerian traders in Ghana.
Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement by the commission’s spokesman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, on Tuesday, described the reported cases of attacks on shops owned by Nigerians as unfortunate.
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According to her, the incidents are happening at a time xenophobic attacks are becoming unpopular.
The NIDCOM boss, however, appealed to Nigerians in Ghana, especially shop owners, not to retaliate, but remain calm and allow law enforcement agents to deal with the situation.
“I hereby appeal for calm from both sides and implore the law enforcement agencies to protect the lives and properties, especially those of Nigerians, from being attacked pending the resolution of the matter,” she said.
Several Nigerians were left injured in the attacks said to have occurred on Monday.
Reports say that the clashes followed the closure of shops belonging to some Nigerian traders at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Ghana.
Some 600 shops belonging to Nigerian traders in Kumasi and other areas have been shut since January by groups allegedly loyal to the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
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The association believes that foreigners, particularly Nigerians, Chinese, and Lebanese have taken over their retail business, alleging that their activities have breached section 27 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 865.
The section stipulates that “the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place” must be reserved only for Ghanaian citizens.
