Ghanaian traders shut 50 shops owned by Nigerians

The Electrical Dealers Association in Ghana yesterday made good the threat to lock up retail shops operated by foreigners, citing the violation of their local legislation.

Not fewer than 50 shops owned by Nigerians were shut down at the Opera Square in Central Accra.

The association had last week issued a notice to all non-Ghanaians to vacate their shops by November 4.

Its spokesman, Samuel Addo, the decision was consistent with Section 27(1) of Act 865 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council which reserves retail business for indigenes.

Members of the association, at about 10 am, stormed shops owned by Nigerians inside the malls and ordered them to leave, while they padlocked their shops.

The Ghanaian traders did not encounter any resistance as Nigerians there readily complied. Also, security officers were not present at the time of the incident.

Some Nigerians, who considered themselves citizens by virtue of naturalisation or marriage, had earlier appealed to their hosts not to lock up their shops.

The president of the Nigerian Union of Traders Associations in Ghana, Chukwuemeka Nnaji, who was present during the clamp down, later reported the incident to the police.

There was calm at the Opera Square yesterday evening, as business went uninterrupted in the electrical hub.