As the Ghanaian government intensifies its hostile action against foreign business owners in the country, a Nigerian business woman has reportedly committed suicide after government authorities shut down her businesses in the country.
The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTs) in Ghana revealed that the Mother of three committed when her means of livelihood was cut off by the Ghanaian government.
The group of business people made the incident and other atrocities by the Ghanaian government against Nigerian businesses known when the leadership visited the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to seek the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter.
The President of the association, Chief Chukwuemeka Nnaji, said the business woman identified as Mrs. Stella Ogonna Okpaleke, had her shops locked up by authorities following her failure to meet stringent trading conditions put in place by the Ghana Government.
Chief Nnaji further revealed that the business woman committed suicide on Sept. 22.
The President of NANTs used the opportunity to call on President Buhari and the Federal Government to intervene in the matter of the maltreatment of Nigerian businessmen in Ghana.
According to the Association President;
“Regrettably on Saturday, Sept. 22, one of our female members, Mrs Stella Ogonna Okpaleke, whose shop has been under lock and key by the Ghana authority committed suicide.
She committed suicide based on her shop and that of her husband that were locked; the information we gathered was that when they locked the shop she lost hope of reopening it.
She is from Nnewi Local Government (Area) in Anambra; we actually don’t know how much she owed, but we learnt that she took loan for her business,”
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He further lamented the severity of the harassment meted out on the Nigerian community and traders in Kumasi, Ghana.
“It is unfortunate that that very woman decided to take her own life,” Nnaji said
Responding the accusations and petitions, Abike Dabiri-Erewa expressed the Federal Government’s condolences to the union and the family of the deceased as she appealed to members of the union to remain calm and assured them that the president would intervene in their case to ensure a lasting solution to the problem.
“I am just going to start by appealing to you, I know it is painful, it is emotional, it is deep but I just urge you to remain calm.
I appeal to you to remain calm and may the soul of Stella rest in perfect peace.
“When she is about to be buried, let us know so that we may send our condolence message to the family,” she said.
Nigerian traders were shut out of their business premises in line with an eviction order on July 27 by the Ghanaian government.
The Ghanaian authority is demanding that traders must have one million dollars as minimum foreign investment capital to do business in Ghana as stipulated in its Ministry of Trade and Industry Act, 2013.