Foodstuff Union says blockade of food items to South continues

The on-going blockade of vehicles carrying food items from the Northern states to the Southern part of Nigeria at Jebba may continue except a compromise is reached with the striking members of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Sellers Association.

This was disclosed Monday by Malam Awwal Aliyu, Spokesperson for Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Sellers Association when he featured on African Independent Television (AIT) breakfast programme “Kaakaki”.

According to him “the blockade of Jebba road so that trucks cannot take foodstuffs to the Southern part of Nigeria will continue until our demands are met by the authorities.”

His position came amid unclear reports that trucks carrying livestocks and farm produce especially perishable goods from Northern parts of the country were stranded at Jebba, the gateway to Southern Nigeria as members of Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Sellers Association had barricaded the road.

Although latest reports according to Prompt News, said “law enforcement agencies have been trying to clear the blocked Jebba road.:

Aliyu, however, insisted that members would not take their wares to the Southern part of the country until their grievances were met by the authorities.

The spokesperson for the group listed some of their grievances to include the alleged distruction of their goods in the recent fracas at Shasha Food Market in Oyo state and continued harassment of their members in Southern Nigeria.

“We will not clear the blocked Jebba road in spite of the harassment of the security agencies because we want our grievances to be addressed.

“Our members are being mistreated in the South West, South East and South South. And until our misgivings are addressed, our members will not take our goods to the Southern part of Nigeria”, Aliyu insisted.

Asked if the Union had channelled its demands to the appropriate quarters, Aliyu claimed that the Federal Government, foreign governments and even international bodies had been petitioned but nothing had come out of it.

“We have petitioned the President, National Security Adviser (NSA), Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff to the President (CoS), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), United Nations (UN), British Parliament and US Congress, etc but we are yet to get responses,” he stated.

Aliyu said that except a truce was found, the blockade at Jebba would continue.