Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja
The closure of Nigerian borders is causing ripples among its neighbours, it was learnt.
The Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Botchwey, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to reconsider its stand.
Botchwey noted that the closure of the borders with Benin has adversely impacted on Ghanian traders.
She spoke during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja.
She was accompanied by her counterpart in Ministry of Trade, Allan Kyerematen and the acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs Iva Denoo.
Botchwey on Tuesday held a meeting with the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Olufemi Abikoye, in Accra over the situation.
She explained that the situation was so dire that it could lead to political tension in countries severely affected by the decision.
“The closure of the borders has had considerable disruptions to trade in the sub-region, with grave consequential economic effects on Ghanaian traders,” she said.
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Onyeama pointed out the closure was to protect the nation’s economy from smugglers, traffickers and illegal migrants.
Botchwey had assured that the government would exhaust all diplomatic avenues to get Nigeria to reopen its western borders for the free flow of goods from Ghana to the sub-region.
She said truckloads of goods from Ghana had been detained at the Seme Border between Benin and Nigeria for weeks, adding that returning the consignments to the seaports would be a major problem as the traders had already lost millions of cedis within the last few weeks.
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