The Federal Government says it will no longer condole the ill-treatment of Nigerians in Ghana, revealing that Ghanaian authorities deported 825 Nigerians in a year.
Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed revealed this on Friday, saying the government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at tackling the maltreatment of Nigerians living in Ghana.
His statement comes against the backdrop of the imposition of $1 million trade levy on Nigerian traders in Ghana and the shutdown of their business premises by the Ghanaian authorities.
Mohammed listed various acts of hostility carried out against Nigeria by Accra, including the seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes road, Accra, which had been used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years, stating that this was a breach of the Vienna Convention.
The minister also mentioned the demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, and the incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana, adding that “825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana between January 2018 and February 2019”.
Mohammed stated: “The Federal Government will like to put on record the fact that even though, over one million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana.
“Also, even though, the main reason given for the seizure of Federal Government property at No. 10, Barnes Road in Accra is the non-renewal of the lease after expiration, the Ghanaian authorities did not give Nigeria the right of first refusal or the notice to renew the lease.”
“By contrast, the lease on some of the properties occupied by the Ghanaian Mission in Nigeria has long expired, yet such properties have not been seized,” he said.
