The Ondo State Government has denied claims made by cocoa farmers in Odigbo Local Government Area that it forcefully removed them from their farmland in the Oluwa Forest Reserve to hand over the land to a private company.
Tension rose over the weekend as hundreds of farmers staged a protest, accusing the state of backing SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited in taking over their farms.
The farmers, who gathered in Odigbo, alleged that officials from the agro firm, with support from government representatives, had begun clearing their plantations.
They further claimed that the company acted under instructions from Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, former head of SAO Agro-Allied Services and now the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture.
Reacting to the accusations, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Mr. Ebenezer Adeniyan, said on Wednesday that the allegations were entirely false. He noted that Mr. Sotinrin is currently a federal official and has no ties to the land dealings in question.
“It is important to clarify that Mr Ayo Sotinrin is the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, a Federal Government institution. Allegations implying that he is using a private firm to seize farmlands are malicious, unfounded, and a clear attempt at character assassination,” the statement read.
Mr. Adeniyan also explained that SAO Agro-Allied Services has operated in the area legally under a Public-Private Partnership since 2021. According to him, the company’s work in agro-industrial development follows all legal procedures and is supervised by the government.
The press secretary further noted that the protesting farmers had broken the terms of their original agreements with the state. He claimed that some had gone beyond the areas allocated to them, encroaching on protected forest zones, and had failed to meet conditions set for using the land.
These actions, he said, created both security and environmental concerns.
“Many of the aggrieved farmers currently occupying parts of the Oluwa Forest Reserve (OA3A) have breached existing agreements and exceeded designated land allocation parameters. Some have encroached on restricted forest zones without authorisation, while others have failed to comply with the agreed land use terms, posing serious environmental and security concerns,” the statement added.
The government also cleared Rotimi Akinsola, the Senior Special Assistant on Agribusiness, from any involvement in the alleged land takeover. Mr. Akinsola’s role, according to the government, is to manage investment in large-scale farming to boost the state’s economy and provide jobs.
“Akinsola is a government appointee overseeing agribusiness in the state. His role involves the strategic management of large-scale commercial agriculture investors granted concessions to develop extensive hectares of land, an effort that is expected to create thousands of jobs and boost the state’s revenue. Claims suggesting that he is involved in land grabbing are not only false but politically driven and completely at variance with the facts,” the statement said.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, through the statement, restated his administration’s readiness to engage with all parties involved and work towards peaceful solutions. He also noted the importance of balancing the protection of livelihoods with upholding the law.
“This administration remains committed to transparency, environmental sustainability, and the growth of agriculture as the backbone of the state’s economy,” the government stated.
