Insecurity: Onion producers threaten to cut supply to the south

The Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (OPMAN) has said it will stop supply to southern Nigeria beginning from today (Monday) if government fails to respond to their demands.

Addressing journalists after the association’s meeting in Sokoto at the weekend, OPMAN President, Aliyu Isa, noted that members of the association lost onions and property worth about N4.5 billion in various attacks in the South.

He noted that one of OPMAN’s demands is that its members who had suffered losses as a result of ethno-religious crises in the South be duly compensated. Others include restoration of law and order 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.

“After full deliberations by the executive members of this association and the failure of government to respond to our cry, we resolved…that we are shutting down the supply of onions to the entire South by Monday, June 7, 2021, unless all our demands are met,” he said.