Ghana shuts down 70 Nigerian shops

No less than 15 shops belonging to Nigerians at Opera Square in Accra, Ghana, have been shuttered.

This is not the first time the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), will close business outlets run by Nigerians in Ghana, which according to Vanguard, brought the total number of businesses belonging to Nigerians shut down by GUTA to 70.

Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, had on Monday, October 4, 2019, met with the Inter-Ministerial Committee to discuss the closure of land borders in the country. [Daily Trust] Pulse Nigeria

In order to avert a similar occurrence, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG), Chukwuemeka Nnaji, advised union members to close their shops as rumours have it that Nigeria-owned businesses at Tip Toe Lane, Kwame Nkrumah Circle areas would be the latest casualties.

Possible reason for the shutdown

Going by the reason given, the businesses shutdown were said to have violated the rules guiding the operation of non-nationals in Ghana. But there are claims in the public domain that the Ghanaian union strategically targeted shops owned by Nigerians as reprisal to the Nigerian border closure.

The closure of Nigeria's land borders has affected Ghanaian traders, as some were reportedly stuck inside the country with tons of goods which they intended to transport through Benin by road.

According to GUTA, about 100 trucks of goods belonging to Ghanaian traders have been locked up in Nigeria since the border closure.