SOKOTO — The National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN) has appealed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene in the continued restriction of Nigerian and Nigerien onion trucks from offloading their consignments at the Kotoku Market in Ghana.
The association warned that the prolonged restrictions were causing significant financial losses to onion exporters and transport operators, while exposing the perishable commodity to deterioration and waste.
In a public broadcast issued by its National President, Alhaji Aliyu Isah Maitasamu, NOPPMAN said the restrictions had continued despite interventions and resolutions reached by officials of the Nigerian and Ghanaian governments.
Maitasamu acknowledged efforts by the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, diplomats, government officials and other stakeholders to resolve the dispute.
He, however, said Nigerian onion trucks continued to face restrictions over the offloading of their consignments at Kotoku Market.
“Despite these interventions and the resolutions reached, Nigerian onion trucks continue to face restrictions in the offloading of their consignments at Kotoku Market,” Maitasamu said.
He said the delays were resulting in mounting losses for farmers, traders, exporters and transporters, stressing that the highly perishable nature of onions made prolonged delays particularly damaging.
Maitasamu stressed that NOPPMAN’s position was not directed against the Ghanaian people or traders, noting that Nigeria and Ghana had maintained longstanding diplomatic, economic and people-to-people relations.
“Our concern is not with the people or traders of Ghana. Nigeria and Ghana have longstanding economic, diplomatic and people-to-people relations, and we remain committed to peaceful and mutually beneficial trade between our two countries,” he stated.
He, however, criticised what he described as unilateral restrictions on legitimate cross-border trade by market actors, particularly where such actions allegedly contradicted agreements reached by relevant authorities and stakeholders.
“No market association or group of traders should be in a position to unilaterally determine the movement, allocation or offloading of legitimate consignments originating from another ECOWAS Member State,” he said.
Against this backdrop, NOPPMAN urged ECOWAS to intervene as a neutral mediator and bring the Nigerian and Ghanaian governments, trade authorities, onion associations and market stakeholders together to find a lasting solution.
The association also called for a formal Memorandum of Agreement to regulate cross-border onion trade, with provisions covering market access, truck movement, offloading, allocation of consignments and dispute resolution.
It said the agreement should be anchored on applicable regional frameworks, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“We are seeking a permanent and fair system. We believe the time has come to move from temporary interventions to a permanent solution,” Maitasamu said.
He added that a transparent and predictable framework would protect legitimate traders, prevent future disputes and strengthen food security, regional integration and intra-African trade.
NOPPMAN reaffirmed its readiness to engage the governments of Nigeria and Ghana, ECOWAS, market associations and other stakeholders towards achieving a sustainable resolution.
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