New Tension At Abossey Okai As Ghanaian Traders Lock Up Nigerian Shops

There is new tension at the Abossey Okai spare parts market as Ghanaian traders lock up shops of their Nigerian counterparts. The Ghanaian traders insist the laws of Ghana do not allow foreigners to engage in retail trade, reason for their actions. They also accused

the Nigerians of selling substandard products at cheap prices, a practice the Ghanaian traders say is killing their business. The local traders also lament unequal to trading space as they claim the Nigerians have enough money to pay for steep prices charged by shop owners,

a practice which disadvantages the locals. These grievances forced the local traders to lock up the shops of the Nigerians and demanding that they shut down their “illegal” operations. But the Nigerian traders are infuriated over the repeated attacks. The leadership of

the Nigerian Traders Association of Ghana has urged their members to resist the attacks from the locals. Chief Emeka Nnaji who spoke to the media lamented what he said is inaction from the government and police after the repeated attacks on them. “I cannot live

in this illegality anymore,” he charged, adding that if the Ghanaian traders want them out, they should buy all their goods and they would pack and leave the country. Following the Tuesday disturbances MP for the area, Ebenezer Gilbert Nii Narh the leadership of the tradrs union at Abossey Okai and the Police Commander for the area went into a meeting to iron out the differences. The resolutions from the meeting are yet to be made public.