Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Federal Government has said that the High Commission of Nigeria in Ghana was neither evicted from its chancery nor its residence.
The government, however, disclosed that the property in question, No 10, Barnes Road, Accra, Ghana, is one of the official quarters of the High Commission which is presently unoccupied.
Speaking with our correspondent, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, said what happened was that the lease agreement which was signed between the Nigerian Ministry of Finance and the Ghanaian ministry long time ago expired in August, 2019.
Nwonye added that ordinarily, the Ghanaian government ought to have informed the Nigerian government, but decided to lay claim to it.
“But we are working on it and there is no cause for alarm.
“It is not our chancery; it is not our residence, it is just one of our official quarters and has been unoccupied for some time.
“Though we have some items inside it, but no one is occupying it,” Nwonye said.
Recall that the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, was reported to have been forcefully evicted from its diplomatic property in Accra and reallocated to Amaco Microfinance since August 26, 2019, by Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Michael Olufemi Abikoye, confirmed receiving a terse letter dated 27th December, 2019, from solicitors acting on behalf of Amaco Microfinance Company Limited, Accra, directing the high commission to vacate the property.
Abikoye said: “As at 31st December, 2019, the property has been broken into by the company and is being ransacked with the likelihood of being effectively occupied.”
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