Ghana COVID-19 testing policy not meant to embarrass Nigerians ― Envoy

Rashid Bawa

The Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Rashid Bawa, said his country has no intention to harass and embarrass Nigerian citizens coming into the country with regard to COVID-19 testing procedures.

The Ghanaian envoy was speaking when he visited Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja against the backdrop of alleged maltreatment of a Nigerian who tested negative to COVID-19 in Dubai only to test positive on arrival in Ghana.

Bawa pointed out that while the COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test is mandatory, Ghana will not maliciously produce COVID-19 positive test results for visitors, especially Nigerians visiting Ghana.

The Ghanaian envoy also expressed concern about the increasing number of underaged Nigerian girls being trafficked to Ghana, stressing that everything should be done to prosecute the syndicate behind such dastardly act.

The High Commissioner acknowledged that both countries in recent times have experienced some challenges, despite the long bilateral relationship between them.

One of such is the growing tension concerning Nigerian traders in Ghana, which according to the Ghanaian High Commissioner, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been reached between the Ministers of Trade in Ghana and Nigeria. Also, a Joint Task Force was set up to further monitor the situation.

Bawa further stated that both countries will stop at nothing to fish out perpetrators of cybercrimes and syndicates trafficking Nigerian female minors from Nigeria to Ghana, for prostitution.

He commended the work of Dabiri-Erewa for her due diligence in projecting Nigerian Diasporas as an important factor towards development in Nigeria and hopes that a similar commission will be replicated in his home country.

Receiving the ambassador, the NiDCOM chairman agreed with the envoy that though the COVID-19 test is a necessary prerequisite for visitors coming to Ghana, the Ghanaian authorities, on the other hand, must ensure that visitors are treated with dignity, fairly and humanely.

On cybercrimes and trafficking, the NiDCOM CEO said that sister agencies such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will partner with the Ghanaian authorities to rid of the few fraudulent Nigerians who are giving Nigerians in Ghana a bad name and causing problems in the host country while acknowledging the numerous Nigerians in Ghana going about their duties with diligence.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.