Senate President Bukola Saraki, has called on his colleagues at the Ghanaian Parliament to review the $120 Residency Fee imposed on Nigerians living in that country.

Saraki made the appeal when a delegation of the Ghanaian Parliament paid him a courtesy visit at the National Assembly, Abuja.

In a statement issued by Chuks Okocha, Saraki’s Special Assistant on Print Media, the Senate President told the parliamentarians to revisit the issue as “things are hard” right now.

He said: “I am appealing to you my colleagues in the parliament in Ghana on the recent laws passed on Nigerians to pay a residency fee of $120.

“I am appealing that you review this law and take a second look at it again as things are hard. This recession is biting hard,” Saraki said.

He also commended the Ghanaian Parliament for supporting Nigeria to emerge as the Vice President for the West African Region in the just concluded  Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Ghanaian delegation had requested that Lawmakers from Ghana be allowed to benefit from Nigeria’s National Institute of Legislative Studies, NILS, especially in areas of legislative drafting.

Saraki assured them that the National Assembly was willing and ready to render any assistance it could, adding that NILS was actually established for such purposes.

He further stated that NILS has been committed to promoting the duties of the National Assembly especially in enhancing the economic agenda of the National Assembly to bring Nigeria out of the current economic recession.

Leader of the Ghanaian delegation and Deputy Leader of the Ghanaian Parliament, described NILS as one of the main pillars to advance democracy in Ghana, while pledging the country’s commitment to enhancing and improving bilateral relationship between it and Nigeria.

Earlier this year, Ghana had formulated a policy which makes it compulsory for Nigerians and other immigrants that stayed in the country for a total of 90 days or more in a given year to register for a Non-citizen card at the cost of $120, an equivalent of about N19, 000.