FEMI Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives has disclosed that President, Muhammadu Buhari has given approval for his legislative diplomacy visit to Ghana over maltreatment of Nigerians.
Gbajabiamila said this during a State House briefing after a closed-door meeting with Buhari on Tuesday.
He stated that his legislative diplomacy visit would see him meet with the leadership of the Ghanaian House of Representatives.
Gbajabiamila’s planned visit came after recent perceived diplomatic frictions between Nigeria and Ghana.
He had last week said the closure of Nigerian shops in Ghana contravened Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade protocols and had called for a decisive solution between both countries.
Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister for Information and Culture had in a statement said maltreatment of Nigerians living in Ghana would no longer be tolerated.
He also lamented that between 2018 and 2019 not less than 825 Nigerians have been deported from Ghana despite over one million Ghanaians living in Nigeria.
Aside from the deportation of Nigerians, other issues like the demolition of Nigeria’s High Commission property, seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property, as well as the imposition of tax for Nigerian traders in Ghana have also tainted the relationship between the two countries recently.
However, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghana’s Minister of Information in a six-page document released on August 30 said the country was not being hostile to Nigerians.
Nkrumah added that the Ghanaian Government would ensure that it sanctions those responsible for the destruction of Nigeria’s High Commission property.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94