Foodstuffs, Cattle dealers union threaten nationwide strike

Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria has threatened a nationwide strike with a seven days ultimatum over incessant violence against its members and imposition of multiple taxations on the Highways.

This was contained in a joint statement signed by the union President, Comrade Muhammad Tahir and Ahmed Alarama on Sunday and sent to Solacebase.

The union in the statement said it has severally written to security agencies on the issue of multiple taxations that is affecting its member’s activities negatively.

‘’On a single trip, at times our members pay as much as N450,000 (Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) before getting to their destination,’’ said the statement.

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‘’It is sad to inform you that some of the  federal highways are not accessible to our members a result of multiple taxations, armed robbery attacks and kidnappings of our members until ransom are paid.’’

‘’It is also sad to inform you of the recent violence that erupted in Shasha, Ibadan in Oyo State whee some of our members were killed and their properties destroyed.’’

The union said it lost countless numbers of its members in the Shasha crisis, not less than a hundred to the EndSARS protests in 2020 and goods worth billions of naira destroyed.

The union says more than one hundred 18- seater buses were also lost in the protests.

The statement said given all these scenarios, it demanded that the federal government compensate its members for the losses suffered in last year’s EndSARS protests and the recent Shasha mayhem in Oyo state.

It also demanded the dismantling of illegal roadblocks mounted on the highways by hoodlums in total disregard of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, most especially from Adamawa, Taraba, Benue down to Port-Harcourt.

‘’To draw an agreement between States Government and the union, that henceforth if any violence of any nature erupted in that state and our members are attacked, we would not hesitate to withdraw our services.’’