by Adamu Abuh, Abuja
• May seek redress at ECOWAS court over mandatory $1m deposit
The House of Representatives yesterday expressed displeasure at a policy compelling Nigerians willing to do business in Ghana to make a deposit of $1 million in a bank account.
A victim of the policy, Mr. Seidu Franklynn during an interactive session with members of the Rita Orji-led House Committee on Diaspora said the law was another case of xenophobia against Nigerians doing lawful businesses in Ghana.
Franklynn, who had spent 15 years doing business in Ghana further informed the lawmakers that over two million Nigerians resident in the country were being compelled to acquire a non-resident card worth $120.
Franklynn further claimed that Nigerians who were not able to pay the $1 million deposit were harassed daily and had their business premises locked up by agents of the Ghanaian government.
The head of the committee who was worried about the revelation wondered why such a policy would be imposed on Nigerians who must have been covered by the protocols guiding member-states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
She maintained that the imposition of such levy was exploitative, adding that Nigeria may be forced to apply the principle of reciprocity to Ghanaians resident in the country.
Orji said her committee would conduct a public hearing involving officials of the Ghanaian embassy and other stakeholders soon.A member of the committee, Edward Gyang Pwajok, who decried the policy said the House might be compelled to take Ghana to the ECOWAS court in Abuja to seek redress over the issue.
According to him: “This is a violation of the ECOWAS protocol which permits movement of persons and goods. Luckily we have the ECOWAS court here in Abuja to protect these Nigerians. We would not allow a fellow West African country like Ghana violate the rights of our citizens in diaspora.”
To read the full piece from The Guardian, click here.