Nigerian traders hail Buhari, ECOWAS for reopening shops in Ghana
News & Trends •
by isaac aregbesola5 ghana investment promotion centre act will never be applicable to ecowas citizens so people can get on with their normal lives he said1 the president of nutag mr chukwuemeka nnaji said this in a telephone conversation with the news agency of nigeria nanfrom kumasi ghana on thursday1 nan reports that hundreds of shops run by nigerians were reportedly shut following an impasse with the ghana union of traders association guta1 the closure of the shops was allegedly in compliance with authorities mulling some legislation compelling foreigners to have one million dollars r14.3 million as minimum foreign investment capital to do business in ghana1 nnaji who confirmed the reopening of the shops by the authority in ghana said that the government of nigeria had worked so hard to achieve the feat1 yes the government of nigeria has worked so hard to bring this success. all our shops are now opened. we want to thank president muhammadu buhari for his intervention he said1 he recalled that president buhari had sent a special envoy led by foreign affairs minister and president of ecowas commission jean claude brou to ghanaian president nana akufo-addo over the matter1 we also commend the ecowas president jean claude brouand his commissioners and other envoys sent toghana so many times over the issue1 the nigerian union of traders association ghana nutag has commended president mohammadu buhari-led government ecowas ghanaian authority and others for their intervention in the reopening of nigerians shops in ghana1 nnaji noted that the minister had on nov 2 summoned the ghanaian high commissioner to nigeria amb. rashid bawa over the situation on the reopening of the shops1 he commended the nigerian high commissioner to ghana amb. olufemi abikoye and his ghanaian counterpart bawa on their efforts in resolving the impasse1 nnaji also expressed the unions appreciation to ghanaian president akufo-addo for his efforts and the role played in ensuring that the closed shops were reopened1 nan also recalled that president akufo-addo had assured nigerians in his country of freedom to operate their businesses without harassment1 akufo-addo said this while receiving president buharis special envoy to ghana led by foreign affairs minister mr geofrey onyeama1 he urged nigerians to go about their normal businesses in ghana1 as far as the traders are concerned the shops are re-opened people are back to work1 we also want to thank the minister of foreign affairs mr geoffrey onyeama and the senior special assistant to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora mrs abike dabiri-erewa for their efforts he said1

Nigerians in Angola not mistreated FG
News & Trends •
by isaac aregbesola5 the ministry of foreign affairs has described as false theallegedvideo clip circulating on the social media purporting to show hownigerians are being maltreated in angola1 the ministrys spokesperson mr george edokpa said this in a statement made available to newsmen on wednesday in abuja1 he said that the attention of the ministry was drawn to the allegedvideo clip and urged the public to ignore it1 he said the purported clip circulating on the social media on maltreatment of nigerians living in angola was not true1 edokpa maintained that the allegation was false and should bedisregarded1 the ministry is in contact with the nigerian embassy in luanda angola andwishes to categorically attest that the incidence under reference in the videodid not occur in angola1 however in line with the mandate of the ministry toprotect nigerians in any part of the world the ministry is conducting acomprehensive investigation on the matter he said1

Boko Haram: UN to visit Borno, Abuja
News & Trends •
by isaac aregbesola5 it said that the mission to nigeria would provide a unique opportunity to create momentum for the nwow and to identify additional opportunities for a comprehensive crisis response in the lake chad region1 onyeama said this in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan after a meeting with the un team leaders on the sidelines of the 73rd un general assembly in new york1 the minister said that the team would be led by the undp administrator mr achim steiner and un emergency relief coordinator and head of un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ocha mr mark lowcock1 he said that the joint un development programme undp-ocha principal-level mission was part of the world ogranisation efforts to support the victims of boko haram insurgency in the region1 onyeama said that the visit was sequel to the high-level conference on the lake chad basin crisis in berlin where the international community committed to a comprehensive crisis response in the lake chad region1 he explained that the conference was held at the beginning of september in berlin on the humanitarian and development efforts on the lake chad basin area1 onyeama said that the visit was aimed at discussing with senior government and donor officials in nigeria on how to further strengthen humanitarian and development responses including national and local ownership in the northeast1 we are looking essentially on how to build on the humanitarian programme and the un has been very much involved and supportive on the humanitarian front in the northeast1 foreign affairs minister geoffrey onyeama says a un joint delegation will visit maiduguri bama and abuja first week of october to scale up its humanitarian intervention in the crisis affected areas1 and of course it is about reconstruction rehabilitation and resettlement it is about creating an environment for economic growth which will require school education and also jobs1 this is what we are looking at and un where they can invest the resources and the technical aspect he said1 the un had said in a statement that the objectives of the joint undp-ocha principal-level mission was to address humanitarian resilience and stabilisation needs of communities to prevent a protracted crisis in northeast1 the urgency to make progress on the new way of working nwow by the un country team and the humanitarian country teams uncthct has been amplified by large-scale humanitarian needs and the related imperative to address the root causes of the lake chad basin crises in a comprehensive and sustainable way1 accordingly the nigeria uncthcts are jointly working on formulating collective outcomes which will guide planning and interventions of humanitarian and development actors he said1 the world body said thatpragmatic pilot projects were currently being set upwhere several agencies can work together in a defined geographic area to address immediate support needs in the area1 it stated that this would also help establish the foundations for community recovery and resilience1 we realised that we have to now move towards the development stage they also want to hear from the nigerian government what they should be looking at1

Why Nigeria cant sever ties with S/Africa over killings Ex-envoy
News & Trends •
by isaac aregbesola5 also government can also look at our ways when there are issues to be dealt with and we also are ready to give government the alternative way of doing things he said1 dr lawal a former nigeria deputy principal representative in algeria said this in an interview news agency of nigeria nan in abuja1 nan reports that killing of nigerians in south africa had been on the increase in recent times1 a report hadstated that no fewer than 117 nigerians were extra-judicially killed in south africa between 2013 and 2018 for one flimsy reason or the other1 according to lawal we cannot because of xenophobic attacks break diplomatic relations with south africa because the issue is not between government and government1 we will continue to work with south africa to make sure that offenders are apprehended and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others he said1 the former director in the ministry of foreign affairs said that the issue of killings in south africa was not between government and government but among the people on the streets1 however south african government also has the responsibility to protect our people and also to advise them on where to go and not to go1 we have to be able to find a ground to ensure that the attack doesnt happen by establishing rules of engagement he said1 the former director said that the present administration had been doing a lot to strengthen the nigerian foreign policy1 he saidthe association was ready to assist the government in ensuring that the government achieves its goal on foreign policy and strengthen ties with other countries1 the president of association of foreign relations professionals of nigeria afrpn amb. gani lawal has said that nigerian cannot severe diplomatic ties with south africa over xenophobic attacks1 he said that theformation of afrpn was to fill a vacuum in the country in terms of providing credible advice to the government on foreign relations1 he added that the association would be formally inaugurated on tuesday july 31 by vice president yemi osinbajo and emir of kano muhammadu sanusi ii1 lawal said the event would also feature inaugural lecture titled the new international system a diplomats nightmare to be delivered by prof. bolaji akinyemi former foreign affairs minister1 he said the associations peer-review journal would be launched by business moguls alhaji aliko dangote alhaji abdulsamad ishyaku rabiu femi otedola and mr tunde folawiyo1 lawal said the association was founded to serve as a think-tank to the federal government and other stakeholders on foreign relations matters1 the afrpn was established as a legal body to engage in scholarly research coupled with our experience to positively impact on the foreign policy process and practice of our country through an interactive process drawing both from the diplomats and the academia he said1 he said when inaugurated the association would be able to advise the government on foreign policy1 according to him most of the pieces of advice that people often give are based on guess work and that is why we are coming on board to offer help to the government based on experience and research1 so we feel that those who have experience in foreign relations can assist in filling necessary vacuums1 those of us who have gone all over the world should be able to put our heads together to advise the government on foreign issues1 according to him what we do is to work behind the scene by doing research using our experience to advise the government1

Libya: FG negotiating release of Nigerians in slave camps
News & Trends •
by isaac aregbesola5 he said the envoy also stressed on the need for improved bilateral relations between both countries1 foreign affairs minister geoffrey onyeama told the news agency of nigeria nan on tuesday in abuja that negotiations were ongoing with some of the militia groups controlling some camps who were demanding money to allow access to their camps1 the minister said he had a meeting with the outgoing libyan ambassador to nigeria dr attai alkhoder who promised his countrys cooperation to ensure the release of nigerians in the slave camps1 he said the federal government was working relentlessly to ensure that all nigerians in libya slave camps were repatriated safely to the country1 i met with the libyan ambassador who promised to cooperate on the issue of migrants i let him know that we appreciate what the libya is doing1 we agreed on way forward that the libya government will continue to help us to access those camps where there are still nigerians outside the control of the libyan government he said1 onyeama stressed that the efforts required negotiations with the militia groups who were in control of the camps1 the federal government says it is working with libyan authority to negotiate the release of all nigerians in libya slave camps and ensure their repatriation safely to the country1 there is an instance that it has to be negotiated down to 2500 dollars per camp to get nigerians out. there is another camp that we have to negotiate around that figure also he said1 the minister however said that not all nigerians in libya were irregular migrants adding that there were some who were living legally in libya1 there are nigerians who are actually in libya legally and are doing their legitimate jobs and we have some of them who are actually useful in helping us to look for nigerians in the country he said1 the minister said that nigeria would want to work towards ensuring that peace returned to libya by ensuring that that country has a central government and police central authority1 when a central authority is in control that is when it will be easier to relate with the country and address some of the problems they are having with regards to irregular migrants he said1 onyeama said the outgoing ambassador assured that he would support nigeria in ensuring that irregular migrants were safely repatriated1 we have been given some amount that we have to pay to those rebels before we can get our people out but it has not been easy1