Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Olufemi Michael Abikoye has charged Nigerians living in Ghana to join President Muhammadu Buhari as he consolidates on rebuilding the country.
Amb Abikoye gave the charge on Tuesday in Accra at the occasion of Nigeria’s 59th Independence Day attended by Nigerians in Ghana and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Hon Afriyie Akoto (MP), Minister of Food Security and Agriculture, represented the Ghanaian government at the occasion
The Envoy also used the occasion to call on Nigerians to continue to be law abiding, respect the traditions and norms of the host society as good ‘Ambassadors’ of Nigeria.
“Fellow Nigerians, my solemn charge to you is to continue to be law abiding, respect the traditions and norms of the society as good ‘Ambassadors’ of our beloved country,” he said.
According to him, “nation building is a process and not an event so it takes time to mature. We must take solace in the knowledge that our Country has everything needed to make it great.
“Hence we should heed the invitation and “Clarion call of our dear President to join him in this journey of rebuilding our nation as we move to the NEXT LEVEL of CHANGE from poverty to prosperity”.
The Envoy used the opportunity to keep them abreast of developments at home in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.
In the area of security, Amb Abikoye informed his audience that President Buhari in his second term is consolidating on the achievements of the last four years.
On the anti-corruption fight, the Envoy said, “at the heart of inequality and insecurity is pervasive corruption, which the government has vowed to eliminate or reduced to the barest minimum.
In the area of economy, Amb Abikoye assured Nigerians in Ghana that President Buhari’s administration is laying the foundation and taking bold steps in transforming the country and liberating the people from the shackles of poverty to prosperity.
On the bilateral relations with Ghana, Amb Abikoye had this to say:
“As the two largest economies in West Africa, the subsisting excellent bilateral relations between Nigeria and Ghana are and remain a crucial one for the region.
“While the gains from these relations are growing in bounds by the day, and in all spheres of human endeavour, may I reiterate my believe that we can do more. This we must do with all the zeal in us.”
He expressed appreciation to the Host President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Government and the good people of the Republic of Ghana for their caring and brotherly love that they have always extended to the High Commission as well as “our compatriots that are living peacefully with their host.
“This is a good reciprocal to the comparable gesture being invested by Nigerians on our Ghanaian brothers and sisters who have also freely chosen Nigeria as a home away from home,” he noted.