John Ntim Fordjour, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, has said that if politicians are protected to travel to Burkina Faso, traders ought to be offered that same protection.
According to Ntim Fordjour, the same level of escort provided to politicians, ministers, Deputy Minister or the CEO when they travel to Burkina Faso should be extended to Ghanaian traders travelling.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on February 17, 2026, Ntim Fordjour detailed, “When it comes to trans-border trips for traders, the Ministry of Defence should undertake a proper risk assessment if that has not already been done. As Ranking Member on the Defence Committee, I can say that we have not been apprised of any such risk assessment regarding Burkina Faso”.
“If such a report becomes available, it should clearly advise travellers to Burkina Faso about identified hotspots and areas that are considered no-go zones. It should also outline the relatively safer areas where traders can operate,” he noted.
He added, “Beyond that, there must be an additional layer of protection. Even in designated safe areas, there should be arrangements for security escorts to ensure that traders who must, by necessity, travel to Burkina Faso for business are adequately protected.
“When a politician, Minister, Deputy Minister or CEO travels to Burkina Faso, they receive full protection from the relevant security agencies to guarantee their safety. If political office holders are protected to travel and return safely, then traders deserve that same level of protection, especially given the security challenges in the sub-region and within our neighbouring countries,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued new travel guidelines requiring Ghanaians intending to travel to high-risk areas to first contact the Ministry or Ghanaian embassies for guidance, following the deadly terrorist attack in Burkina Faso that killed eight traders.
Also, Deputy Agriculture Minister John Dumelo has asserted that Ghana cannot stop cross-border trade but must protect its traders.
Speaking on JOYFM The Pulse on Tuesday, 17 February, the Deputy Minister stated, “It has to be re-looked at, it has to be re-evaluated and see, you know, our shortcomings or the shortcomings of other authorities. The truth of the matter is that we cannot stop cross-border trade. Of course, we do encourage a lot of cross-border trade.”
“All in all, we value some of these security measures that have been in place and see how best we can protect our traders. I don’t personally want to bring up those two issues, but they are perishable assets.”
“In the next couple of days, we’ll definitely announce some of the measures that we’ve taken to protect these traders who go to Burkina Faso and other countries that are a little bit unstable. In the coming days, we’ll be announcing some of the measures.”
Watch the video below:
"If the politician is protected to travel and return safely with security escort, the trader ought to be offered that same protection." – John Ntim Fordjour, Ranking Member, Defence and Interior Committee#3NewsGH #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/fbZV0JWxXM
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) February 17, 2026