Nigerians are not moving to Ghana in droves ahead of their elections this month, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has debunked.
The Service has described as an “exaggeration,” reports to that effect.
“The kind of feedback we’re having from our respective entry points, it’s not an unusual movement,” Public Affairs Director of GIS Francis Palmdeti told Morning Starr host Kafui Dey Monday.
According to him, “…some people ply their trade along the borders,” and “…mind you, these are ECOWAS nationals who are entitled to 90 days without any visa regime, so they move in, come in, do a bit of business and go back.”
He said: “Most of them went out for Christmas and they are returning. We haven’t seen an unusual movement of Nigerians in Ghana, and so I think that people’s fears should be allayed about people trooping into Ghana. I think that the facts on the ground do no suggest that,” Palmdeti said.
Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a new federal president on Valentine’s Day. The country’s gubernatorial elections are also scheduled for later in the month. The two main political parties in Nigeria – PDP and APC – recently erected billboards in Ghana’s national capital as part of efforts to convince the Nigerian community in Ghana to return home to vote.
Threats of violence from Islamist militant group Boko Haram, is also causing some Nigerians to be on the edge.
The GIS recently picked up 49 Fulanis in the northern part of the Volta region. They said they had come from Nigeria’s Oyo state.
Source: GhanaWeb
