Nigerian govt accepts Ghana’s apology over embassy building demolition

Nigeria has expressed satisfaction over the moves by the Government of Ghana to address the demolition of the residence of the Nigerian High Commissioner in Government of Ghana.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday, that the government had taken note of the efforts of President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, and Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayokor Botchwey, to calm the situation.

He, however, expressed concerns that reports indicated that the perpetrators of the act were unhindered and had a lot of time despite calls to the Ghanaian authorities by the Charge d’Affaires of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana.

He added that further reports indicated that the security operatives who were on the ground during the demolition, seemed to have been supportive of those carrying out the violation on Nigeria’s sovereign territory in Ghana.

A diplomatic row

A building inside the Nigerian High Commission was demolished last week after the Ghanaians alleged it trespassed on their land.

The demolition sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries, with the Nigerian government summoning the Ghanaian high commissioner this week over the incident.

Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, and his government apologised over the incident; on its own part, the Nigerian government said it would not take retaliatory action against its West African neighbour.

On Thursday, the Ghanaian government reiterated its commitment to rebuild the demolished building, adding that it had launched an investigation into the unlawful demolition.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Onyeama noted that the perpetrators had been arrested and arraigned in court and the government of Ghana had apologised and equally promised to rectify all the pending paper works that led to the misinformation of the Lands Commission in Ghana.

“The Government of Ghana has assumed total responsibility and with the apology, have made it clear that they will be responsible for restitution – rebuilding the building to the state that it was when it was destroyed.

“So, this is to say that the matter has been satisfactorily resolved and that at very highest level as I mentioned, President Muhammadu Buhari personally engaged in this process.

“The President of Ghana has apologised, those who carried out the action have been arrested and charged to court and the Ghana government has agreed to rebuild the property.

“So, we would like to put the matter to rest and to acknowledge the very speedy reaction of the Ghanaian government and to say that we will now continue to further strengthen relations between our two countries, take lessons learnt from what has happened and move ahead without recriminations,” Mr Onyeama said. (NAN)