The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called for cool heads to prevail over the trade impasse between Ghana and Nigerian in which Parliament has given indication it will review the retail law to accommodate traders from Nigerians and other ECOWAS countries.

According to him, his statement regarding Ghana and Nigeria retail feud on the floor of the Nigerian Parliament was misconstrued by Ghanaian traders.

Meeting with leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), the Speaker debunked claims over attempts to review the GIPC Act, Act 865 on retail trade in favor of Nigerian traders.

According to him, there is no way he will speak against Ghana’s trading community.

“How can I go and sell Ghana to Nigerians, that is never possible and the message I sent there was misrepresented. I am a champion of retail trade in Ghana, there is no way I will go against that,” he stated.

The Speaker’s statement to the Nigerian Parliament was conceived by GUTA to be an exemption of Nigerian traders from the $1 million minimum capital requirement under the GIPC Act 2013, Act 865 – as part of a joint communique between Ghana and Nigeria on the sidelines of the Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit.

Meanwhile,  Alban Bagbin has called for “calm heads to prevail” as he has reiterated is aim to fight for the  interests of Ghana’s retail community.

Leadership of GUTA expressed gratitude to the Speaker of Parliament for granting them an audience to re-emphasize their position that the GIPC ACT 2013, ACT 865, is all that holds the brakes to insecurity and unfair trade practices in Ghana’s retail space.