ABUJA- The establishment of the Nigeria-Ghana Chamber of Commerce will end all trade disputes between both countries, an official has said.

Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro, Nigeria‘s High Commissioner to Ghana, told newsmen in Abuja that the chamber was the needed structure to resolve all trade disputes between both countries.

“The Nigeria-Ghana Chamber of Commerce will serve as an umbrella organisation to mitigate all trade disputes and also ensure that such issues do not arise again in the future,” he said.

Obanikoro said that Nigerian traders and Ghanaian authorities in the past were involved in a lot of disputes due to the absence of any organisation charged with the responsibilities of looking into complaints.

‘As I speak to you today, there is no organ, be it government or private sector led that is coordinating economic activities between both countries,” he said. “The Nigeria-Ghana Chamber of Commerce that is coming on board will be a structure that will serve as a clearing house for economic activities between both countries.” He said that the chamber would also see to the actualisation of all trade and bilateral agreements between Nigeria and Ghana and ensure that such agreements were translated into bankable deeds. “More importantly, the chamber will serve as an organ that will impact on government policy agenda,” he said. He said that as soon as the chamber was launched in the second week of October government would take the back seat and allow the businessmen take charge.

The high commissioner said that the recent trade dispute between Nigerian traders and Ghanaian authorities had been amicably resolved. “Out of the 29 stores closed in the wake of the crisis, 25 has been re-opened while agreements on the remaining four is nearing completion,” he said.