President John Dramani Mahama has called on the private sector to take advantage of the good relations between Ghana and Nigeria to penetrate that country’s market.

According to the President, “It is easy to notice the massive investment the Nigerian financial sector has made in the country’s financial sector. Several Nigerian banks are represented in the country’s financial market.”

He therefore called on Ghanaian businesses to also follow the example of the Nigerian private sector and seek opportunities there because the Nigerians have a much larger market.

President Dramani Mahama made this known when he cut the sod for the construction of rLG’s $10 billion Hope City project in Accra.

He said Ghana and Nigerian are part of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and have signed numerous protocols that guarantee the free movement of their people across their borders.

President Dramani Mahama said they were working on the formation of a Costume Union that will harmonize efforts of the two countries, admitting that their progress have been slow.

However, he said, “I am comforted by the action of the private sector of the two countries. While governments are slow in making our integration happen, the private sectors in the two countries have seized the initiative and are dragging governments forward by force.”

The President said while government will continue to work to create the harmonized custom union zone, the private sector should continue to take the lead and move the two governments forward.

“Mutual investments in our various countries will push government faster to fast-track the sub-regional integration projects,” he added.