Don’t succumb to any pressure from ECOWAS – GUTA advises government of Ghana

The Ghana Union Association of Ghana (GUTA) has appealed to government to remain steadfast on its stance to close borders amidst the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, despite seeming pressure from ECOWAS on some African countries.

The President of the Association, Dr Joseph Obeng advised that government sticks to its strategic plans of combating the deadly disease which is fast spreading.

In an interview with GhanaWeb, he said, “We appeal to government not to succumb to any pressure from the sub-region and that Ghana has its programme on the COVID-19 and should go by its own pace of time with regards to when to open its borders”.

According to Dr Obeng, at the time Nigeria closed its borders to its neighbouring towns, ECOWAS looked on, therefore, he believes, they have no grounds to order any government to take action against their will.

“ECOWAS could not do anything about Nigeria’s closure of border, so ECOWAS does not have any basis to tell any government to open its borders especially in the wake of the COVID-19 where countries have set their own principles”. He said.

On the back of the seeming tension between Ghana and Nigeria, Dr Obeng said the closure of Nigerian shops at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle is backed by law hence, people should stop tagging them as 'heartless'.

He said, “That’s the same reason Nigeria closed their borders because they said we are importing goods outside the ECOWAS jurisdiction and then sending it into their country and that they will never allow anybody to breach the rules of origin. They don’t qualify in any way if you consider the local laws we have”.

Ghana, on March 15, 2020, announced the closure of its borders in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Despite the easing of some restrictions, the country's borders remain closed till further notice, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stated in one of his addresses to the nation.