The food distribution blockade imposed by northern traders has been partially lifted as the supply of perishable food items to southern states is set to resume, ending almost a week-long trade face-off between both regions which began on February 25.
It was gathered that traders agreed to a partial suspension of blockage.
“The partial suspension was made by the dealers of perishable goods,”.
Yahaya Bello, the Kogi state governor, is currently holding a meeting with the leadership of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) in Abuja.
READ ALSO: FG Plans SIM Swap Centres Nationwide
Awwalu Aliyu, an official of the union said the decision not to supply food to the south was not to starve southerners but to protest attacks on their members.
Aliyu alleged that some members in the south were killed, maimed and lost properties especially during the #EndSARS protest and the recent Shasha market crisis in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
He had said the union preferred that farm produce go to waste rather than tolerate “continued attacks” on its members in the south.
The situation has led to an increase in the prices of food in the southern part of the country.
On Monday, the AUFCDN said the Department of State Services (DSS) invited Mohammed Tahir, the union’s president, over the decision to block the delivery of food items from the north to the south.
