A Former Deputy Education Minister and a Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said that government’s war of words with the Nigerian government is unnecessary.

The Nigerian government through a statement Friday accused the government of Ghana of harassing and maltreating its citizens in Ghana.

It observed that although Ghanaians are in Nigeria, they have been left to go on with their daily activities devoid of any form of harassment but the Ghanaian government is not replicating the same although both countries have common ties.

But the Ghanaian government through the Information Minister refuted the claims by the Nigerian government noting that Ghana respects its relationship with the Republic of Nigeria and will not harass its citizens.Reacting to the back and forth, Okudzeto Ablakwa insists that the war of words is not necessary at the moment and there should be steps taken behind closed doors to address the existing issues between the two countries.

He noted that there is a lot at stake in the ties between Nigeria and Ghana to risk any form of escalation with the current way the issues are being handled.

His tweet on the issue read “The war of words between Ghanaian and Nigerian top officials is not the way to go. It’s imperative that rapprochement is pursued through quiet behind the scenes diplomatic channels. There’s too much at stake in the long-standing ties between Ghana & Nigeria to risk escalations”.