The Onion Producers and Marketers Association, (OPMAN), has directed its members to suspend supply to the South-East geo-political zone over the worsening insecurity in the region.
This was the outcome of their meeting held in Sokoto yesterday.
Briefing newsmen, the OPMAN President, Aliyu Isah, said the decision became necessary in view of the happenings in Imo State where two trucks loaded with onions were hijacked by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“We cannot continue supplying them with onions until we are sure of the safety of our members and their goods,” he said.
According to him, each of the hijacked trucks contained 460 bags of onions worth N13.4 million.
He also revealed that onions worth N2.4 billion were lost to the fire that engulfed Ramin Kura market in Sokoto State.
According to him, 200,000 bags of onions in 20,000 facilities were destroyed in the fire incident, which occurred around 12:30 am yesterday.
He appealed to the Federal and State governments to come to their aid or else there would be an onion crisis in the country this year.
