BREAKING: Northern Onion Marketers to Stop Supply to Southern Nigeria
- The scarcity of onions may hit the whole of southern Nigeria in the days to come if OPMAN carries out its threat
- The association of Onions Producers, Processors, and Marketers of Nigeria (OPMAN) says the decision was taken to protect its members
- The group also asked for compensation for the losses suffered by its members while calling on the federal government to intervene
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Sokoto - The association of Onions Producers, Processors, and Marketers of Nigeria (OPMAN) has threatened to stop the supplying of onion to the entire Southern part of Nigeria.
According to the group, the embargo on the supply would not be lifted unless certain conditions laid down by the association are met.
The association disclosed that about N4.5 billion worth of onions and properties were destroyed by suspected hoodlums across southern states in the last few months in addition to the loss of lives of members of the association without any compensation.
Source: Getty Images
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Nigerian Tribune reports that the national president of the association, Alhaji Aliyu Isa, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Sokoto.
He called on state governors to urgently collaborate with the federal government to set up a committee to look into the root causes of the numerous attacks on members of the association.
He however said if the government failed to adhere to the demands of the association,
“We are shutting down the supply of Onions to the entire south by Monday, June 7, 2021. There will be no truck that will off-load onions by 12midnight of Friday 11th June 2021.”
Daily Trust gathered that one of OPMAN’s demands was that its members who had suffered losses as a result of the crises in the south must be duly compensated.
Others include restoration of law and orders in those areas as well as a thorough investigation to uncover the remote causes of those attacks on their members.
OPMAN also called on the host communities to respect the constitutional rights of northern traders in their respective states.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that OPMAN announced its decision to suspend onion supply to the southeast due to the growing insecurity in the region on Wednesday, June 2.
The association took the decision following the recent hijack of two of their members’ trucks by gunmen.
Meanwhile, a group of women under the aegis of the Amalgamation of Northern Women Associations, staged a protest on Saturday, June 5, in Abuja, demanding a referendum to allow secession agitators to chose whether or not to remain in Nigeria.
The coordinator of the group, Hajia Hadiza Adamu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly to urgently call for a referendum to allow those who want to secede to do so without any war.
Adamu lamented that the secessionist agitation has turned the southeast region into a warzone, adding that northerners no longer feel safe there.
Source: Legit.ng
