President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo addressing Mr Femi Gbajabiamila (2nd right), Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, and his delegation. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO

Ghana Nigeria Business Council applauds government actions

Graphic.com.gh Business News Sep - 07 - 2020 , 15:21

The Ghana Nigeria Business Council (GNBC) has applauded the government's actions regarding Ghana and Nigeria’s trade relations.

A recent attempt by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to impress on Ghanaian authorities to enforce Ghanaian laws that restrict foreigners from engaging in retail business below a certain threshold of capital in the local markets has been met with disagreement, especially from Nigerian traders in Ghana.

This provoked a pronouncement from Nigerian authorities in Nigeria following which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Information in Ghana had to react.

Last week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila paid a working visit to Ghana and met with the Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Mr Femi Gbajabiamila said the recent impasse between Nigeria and Ghana is as a result of misconception and misinformation created by some people and fueled by the media in both countries.

“The issues at hand are basically misconception and misinformation by some people and perhaps the media on both sides as to what exactly is going on in Ghana as far as Nigerians are concerned."

“We have taken time to educate our people here, because we met with them ..., about these misconceptions,” he noted.

Mr. Gbajabiamila said this when he paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra.

The Speaker and his entourage were in Ghana at the invitation of the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye.

It is based on the meeting by the Nigerian Speaker of the House of Representatives that the GNBC is applauding in its press statement, which was issued on Monday, September 7, 2020.

Below is a copy of the statement

Ghana Nigeria Business Council Applauds Government Actions

Accra, Ghana - Monday 7th September 2020: We at the Ghana Nigeria Business Council would like to congratulate our President Nana Akufo-Addo, Senior members of his delegation including Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye and the Nigerian delegation led by Speaker of Parliament Femi Gbajabiamila on their successful and diplomatic meeting which took place on Thursday 3rd September 2020 regarding Ghana and Nigeria’s trade relationship.

Our President Nana Akuffo-Addo correctly stated the importance of Ghana hosting a trade council for Nigerians in Ghana.

In light of this, and prior to our re-launch slated for Thursday 8th October 2020, the Ghana Nigeria Business Council (GNBC), which is a registered not-for-profit entity, would like to highlight that we have been serving the suggested purpose for our Nigerian members in Ghana since 2014.

In addition, to our support and patronage in Ghana for Nigerian businesses to operate in Ghana, we are also partnered with the Nigeria Ghana Business Council located in Lagos, Nigeria - which supports and promotes Ghanaians to do business in Nigeria.

At the Ghana Nigeria Business Council we have been in talks with our key partners and those who are involved in the trade disputes and at this stage we would like to congratulate Government in organizing an inter-ministerial commission at Government level to deal with this matter at hand.

The formation of this committee highlights the level of importance Ghana places on ensuring our relationship with Nigeria is is at the forefront and that the matters gets resolved asap.

At this stage we implore Government and other stakeholders to provide the sufficient endorsement and support to the Ghana Nigeria Business Council, in order to assist us in accelerating growth within the Private sector and ensuring that we are able to provide seamless and consistent support for our brothers.

We wholeheartedly welcome the proffered suggestion that as an organization we are backed by legislation on both sides to further assist in reducing any difficulties experienced by Nigerians whilst doing business in Ghana.

On Thursday 8th October, we, at the Ghana Nigeria Business Council, shall be relaunching our services in Ghana after a year of restructuring the organisation and ensuring that we are well aligned with our members, providing them with the necessary services and support.

We are presently engaging corporate Nigerian companies through to traders, ensuring that they are all best equipped to successfully navigate the Ghanaian business terrain whilst being compliant and within our laws.

At present, the GNBC has strategic partnerships with the Nigerian High Commission, GIPC, and Private Enterprise Fund. We are constantly growing our partnerships to ensure that we provide real value to our members.

We look forward to working with Government and all key stakeholders to ensure that all current matters are resolved and that we set a great foundation for trade between Ghana and Nigeria.

For more information about the GNBC please visit www.thegnbc.com, membership is available now and enquiries can also be made.