Nigerian border closure: Govt. assures GUTA of cabinet-to-cabinet modality agreement

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has assured members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association, that it will put together a cabinet-to-cabinet modality agreement between Ghana and Nigeria to resolve the recent closure of the Benin-Nigeria border, the union’s national organiser, Clement Boateng, has revealed.

According to him, the move is expected to allow the free movement of Ghanaian traders, who have had their goods stranded at the borders for many months.

“Yesterday the Foreign Affairs Minister and Trade Minister, accompanied by a representative of GUTA, during a trip to Abuja met the Nigerian authorities to begin to work out the modalities which will be facilitated by cabinets from both Ghana and Nigeria to enable Ghanaian traders have an easy passage by way of their goods and people,” he told GhanaWeb in a telephone conversation.

Mr Boateng further revealed that the Nigerian delegation, during the trip blamed the closure on some Beninois traders who rampantly smuggle and repackage rice illegally imported from France into the country.

The trader’s union, earlier called Nigeria’s stance as a breach of ECOWAS protocol and expressed shock at the government of Ghana’s silence on Nigeria’s decision to close its southern borders in contravention on trade and exports of goods and people.

“Several goods destined for the Nigerian market are now stranded at the Togo-Benin border. Most of our Ghanaian traders have had their goods locked up at these borders for months and that doesn’t augur well for the trade and exports of goods,” President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng said.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Foreign Affairs Minister, during an interaction with the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana on Tuesday, October 15, stated that, “Goods from Nigeria are entering Ghana without any problem and I think that we should find ways of isolating issues and the countries that you have problems with so that Ghana’s exporters can enter your market without being lumped up with all these issues that have cropped up.”

Nigeria’s decision to close the borders

Previously, the Nigerian government in its Prohibited and Restricted Imports list banned the importation of some 45 products including rice, cement, textile products cocoa butter and other products it currently manufactures.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in August 2019, ordered a partial closure of the Togo-Benin border to check the smuggling of cheap goods into Nigeria.

Following that, Nigeria’s borders were completely shut down this September.