The President of the Regional Observatory of Onion in West and Central Africa (ORO), Isa Aliyu, has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Government of Ghana to secure the release of Nigerian onion trucks detained at Kotoku Market in Accra. 

Addressing journalists in Sokoto on Thursday, July 23, 2026, Aliyu warned that the ongoing blockade threatens cross-border agricultural trade and violates regional free movement protocols.

The dispute began on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, when local Ghanaian onion traders physically prevented Nigerian exporters from offloading their cargoes. 

Because onions are highly perishable, prolonged delays lead to rapid spoilage and substantial financial losses across the supply chain, affecting farmers, transporters, and exporters alike. 

Despite interventions by the Nigerian High Commission, the Embassy of the Republic of Niger, and formal communication sent via the ECOWAS Trade Directorate, the stalemate remains unresolved.

Aliyu highlighted a stark trade imbalance, pointing out that while Ghanaian traders operate freely in Nigeria, purchasing over 50 trucks of onions weekly without restriction, Nigerian exporters face hostility and artificial barriers at the Kotoku Market. 

Under existing regional agreements, Nigeria supplies 16 trucks of onions weekly to Ghana alongside 10 trucks from the Republic of Niger. 

The ORO leadership stressed that the blockade breaches both the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), warning that failure to release the trucks by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 24, will force regional stakeholders to convene and consider retaliatory measures.

Source: This Day Live
Image Credit: Daily Trust