A report by SaharaReporters has shown that there is fresh tension at the Abossey Okai spare parts market in Accra, Ghana 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.
They also accuse the Nigerians of selling substandard products at low prices; a practice the Ghanaian traders say is killing their business.
JoyFM reports that the local traders claimed 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 demanded 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 JoyNews, lamented the 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 traders 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 have yet to be made public.
