Leadership (Abuja)
10 October 2008
A three-day summit of Nigerian businessmen and their Ghanaian counterparts ended on Wednesday night in Accra with the inauguration of the Ghana-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
A Ghanaian and the Chief Executive Officer of the Shield Petroleum Ghana Ltd., Mr Herbert Osei-Baidoo, was presented the pioneer president of the chamber of commerce at a gala nite to mark the end the summit.
Osei-Baidoo was presented to the public by Mr Papa Owusu, Ghana 's Minister of Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development, who represented Vice President Aliyu Mahama at the occasion.
Other officers of the organisation will be selected next week.
Owusu said at the occasion that the business community in Ghana and Nigeria expected much from the chamber.
He urged the pioneer president to ensure that the chamber laid a solid foundation for trade relations and growth in the countries.
Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, Amb, Musiliu Obanikoro, expressed satisfaction at the inauguration, saying that it marked a new beginning in Nigeria's trade relationship with Ghana.
He said that the High Commission and the others that facilitated the establishment of the chamber had played their own roles, and that it behoved on the private sector to fully exploit the structure.
Fielding questions from journalists, Osei-Baidoo said that the leadership of the new association was a challenge that he would do his best to conquer.
He said that the chamber would eliminate all trade barriers between the two countries, adding that it would ensure implementation of the ECOWAS trade liberalisation scheme.
Osei Baidoo said that the chamber would work directly with the countries' respective high commissions.
"It is long overdue to have the chamber; I feel that we are one people and should work together.
"We will build a good relationship between our governments and our people, we will ensure that a law made by ECOWAS is obeyed by our countries," he said. (NAN)
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