The leadership of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AFCDN) on Wednesday agreed to lift the blockade on food supply from the North to the Southern part of Nigeria.
Reports have it that the leadership of the union and the Northern Consensus Movement reached an agreement after several dialogues on Wednesday in a meeting at the Kogi state governor’s lodge.
Recall that the Union had placed a ban on all food supplies from North to South over their demand to be paid N4.7 billion as compensation for damages suffered by Northerners during the #EndSARS protest and the Shasa market crisis in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The union went as far as blocking strategic roads in Lokoja and Jebba road so as to ensure strict compliance to the blockade.
According to the Youth leader of the Lagos state cattle dealers association, Abdullahi Tom, the Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, was among the leaders who appealed to the union to end the industrial action.
This was however followed by a reaction by the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), who said Bello and Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, had fooled the AFCDN to suspend its strike action and supply food to the South.
In a statement by its Spokesperson, Suleiman Abdul-Azeez, the group warned northerners to be careful of the duo as their intervention was for personal interests and not the interest of the North.
The statement reads, “The Coalition of Northern Groups CNG is of the view that the conclusion to suspend strike action embarked by the cattle and foodstuff dealers under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) was forced on the union leaders who were as well fooled.
“With earlier reports that the leadership of AUFCDN was arrested and detained by the security and intimidation of union leaders out to enforce the blockade by the Military, everyone can see that the strike suspension was far from voluntary.
“We all know that Governor Bello had never shown any concern over the plight of the northerners when they were attacked during the EndSARS uprising and at Sasha, Ibadan. Besides, the agreement reached did not disclose any commitment by the authorities on the demand for payment of compensation for lives and properties lost by northerners to the attacks.
“Northerners should therefore be wary of the maneuvers of such southern politicians and their northern collaborators like Bello whose eyes are only primed on the presidency and not the general safety of the country and the North in particular”.