• About Us
  • Contact Us
Account
GTB
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
No Result
View All Result
Account
Ghana Talks Business
No Result
View All Result

Negotiations between Ghana and Nigeria to reopen Nigeria-Benin border fail

02/03/2020
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Border closure

Source: Bloomberg

0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsApp

Negotiations between Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities to reopen the closed Benin border has failed.

This is as result of the insistence of Nigerian authorities to keep the country’s borders closed to businesses from neighbouring West African Countries.

Consequently, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, has asked all Ghanaian exporters with registered trucks stuck at the closed Nigerian-Benin border to return home.

 “President of Ghana wants all Ghanaian registered trucks that are seated at the border to come back home. Indeed, he has asked us to go to the border to assess the situation.

“From interactions we have had with Nigeria, it does not seem they will re-open the border soon, it is very unfortunate,” Mr Ahenkorah is quoted to have said.

Again, the Deputy Trade Minister further explained the Nigerian Government’s insistence on the border closure is owed to some three trade conditions as part of 10 others that the Benin government had refused to implement.

GUTA on the closure

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), has described the closure of Nigeria’s trade borders to Benin and other neighbouring countries including Ghana as an outright breach of ECOWAS treaties.

The Association’s President, Dr Joseph Obeng, had easlier on told the media that the closure had prolonged due to the failure on the part of the Foreign Affairs Ministry as well as the ECOWAS parliament to put the member state in check.

This act, he insisted, flies in the face of the entire ECOWAS treaties on the free movement of people and good in the region.

“Nigeria has blatantly flouted ECOWAS protocol if there is even something like that. Surprisingly, the foreign affairs ministry has failed to deal with this issue, nobody is talking to this issue and for two months Ghanaian goods have been locked up in Nigeria”, he added.

Genesis of the border closure

On August 20, 2019, the Nigerian Government, in a move to curb the smuggling of large quantities of rice and other essential commodities, took steps to close it borders to neighbouring countries including Benin and Niger, whose borders were partially closed.

When this happened, Ghanaian Businesses who ferry their goods and services to cities in Nigeria and Benin, had their commodities locked out behind border gates.

The closure of the Nigeria-Benin Border has entered its eighth month with Ghanaian exporters complaining massively over the impact it has had on trading activities as well as profit margins.

For instance, beverage manufacturing firm, Kasapreko Ltd had course to complain about how the closure had resulted in about a GH¢2 million loss in profits to the company in just about two months of the border closure.

President Mahammadu Buhari, last month, after a meeting with the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, insisted that Nigerian borders will only be reopened upon certain recommendations from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He further called on all affected neighboring countries to exercise restraint over the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin.

Ghana Talks Business

Previous Post

Moneylenders in Ghana appeal to BoG to reduce GH₵2 minimum capital requirement

Next Post

GH¢700 million paid to customers of collapsed Microfinance companies

Related Posts

spare-parts dealers

Covid-19: Kokompe spare-parts dealers call for help, say their businesses are collapsing

15/05/2020
demurrage and rent charges

Demurrage and rent charges suspended, as Ghana’s Gov’t heed to importers’ cry

20/04/2020
Ghana's economy

Waiver of demurrage and rent charges necessary in Ghana’s ports during lockdown period

17/04/2020
soft loan scheme

Modalities required for GH₵600m loan scheme for SMEs- Ghana Union of Traders Association

08/04/2020
The President of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng

Financial Institutions must waive loan repayments for 6 months-GUTA tells BoG

02/04/2020
UK business support

Covid-19: UK Government announce £330billion financial support for Businesses

20/03/2020
Next Post
collapsed microfinance

GH¢700 million paid to customers of collapsed Microfinance companies

Impact of Brexit, ghanatalksbusiness.com

Impact of Brexit on United Kingdom’s Human Capital Development

  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

© 2021 Ghana Talks Business

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
  • Login

© 2021 Ghana Talks Business

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In