On Sunday, farmers from the Oluwa Forest in Odigbo Local Government, Ondo State, staged a protest, which caused hours of delays for motorists using the important Lagos-Ore road.
Protesters, who were farmers, blocked the road in an effort to stop SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited from evicting them from their land. Ayo Sotinrin, who was just named Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) by President Bola Tinubu, is supposedly associated with the company.
Wemimo Akinsola, the private firm’s senior special assistant on agriculture and agri-business to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is allegedly helping the protesting farmers.
The farmers vented their frustrations at the firm over the way they were forced to leave their farmlands, brandishing placards that read “Rotimi Wemimo Must Go,” “Ayo Sotinrin Is Using Govt Power On Poor Farmers,” “Farmers Have Rights To Life,” “Tinubu Save Farmers From Sotinrin,” and “SAO Belongs To Ayo Sotinrin, MD, Bank of Agric,” among others.
According to farmer representative Musafiu Irewolede, the corporation falsely claimed ownership of the more than 10,000 ha of farmland from the state government, and this constitutes an illegal act.
Despite the fact that we have been paying N20,000 per rope to cultivate here since 2019, the reality is that we have gone to court to contest this unlawful act and obtained an injunction halting the destruction of the farmland. Their persistent defiance of the court order, however, showed no signs of abating.
A bulldozer from SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited showed up to level the fields. The land was purchased from the state government by Ayo Sotinrin, an appointment of President Bola Tinubu, with the help of Rotimi Wemimo Akinsola, the senior special assistant to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Irewolede said that the state government had been taxing the farmers for more than 20 years who had been working the property. Rent, security, and identification card fees are just a few of the many taxes that the farmers have reportedly been paying.
According to Felix Adeniyi, another farmer, the property had provided sustenance for numerous families and households, and the development would force at least 15,000 farmers to leave their homes.
Since Mr. Rotimi Wemimo is egocentric, hostile to Ondo State farmers, and working to further private investors’ interests rather than the government’s, we are urging Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to fire him.
“We are firmly requesting that Mr. Ayo Sotinrin step down from his position as MD of Bank of Agriculture immediately due to a conflict of interest. If he remains in his position, we urge President Bola Tinubu to remove him.”
Noting that SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited had processed the land allocation, paid the required fees, and secured a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), Sotinrin denied that the company was dispossessing farmers in the state of their farms when approached.
On Sunday, farmers from the Oluwa Forest in Odigbo Local Government, Ondo State, staged a protest, which caused hours of delays for motorists using the important Lagos-Ore road.
Protesters, who were farmers, blocked the road in an effort to stop SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited from evicting them from their land. Ayo Sotinrin, who was just named Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) by President Bola Tinubu, is supposedly associated with the company.
Wemimo Akinsola, the private firm’s senior special assistant on agriculture and agri-business to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is allegedly helping the protesting farmers.
The farmers vented their frustrations at the firm over the way they were forced to leave their farmlands, brandishing placards that read “Rotimi Wemimo Must Go,” “Ayo Sotinrin Is Using Govt Power On Poor Farmers,” “Farmers Have Rights To Life,” “Tinubu Save Farmers From Sotinrin,” and “SAO Belongs To Ayo Sotinrin, MD, Bank of Agric,” among others.
According to farmer representative Musafiu Irewolede, the corporation falsely claimed ownership of the more than 10,000 ha of farmland from the state government, and this constitutes an illegal act.
Despite the fact that we have been paying N20,000 per rope to cultivate here since 2019, the reality is that we have gone to court to contest this unlawful act and obtained an injunction halting the destruction of the farmland. Their persistent defiance of the court order, however, showed no signs of abating.
A bulldozer from SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited showed up to level the fields. The land was purchased from the state government by Ayo Sotinrin, an appointment of President Bola Tinubu, with the help of Rotimi Wemimo Akinsola, the senior special assistant to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Irewolede said that the state government had been taxing the farmers for more than 20 years who had been working the property. Rent, security, and identification card fees are just a few of the many taxes that the farmers have reportedly been paying.
According to Felix Adeniyi, another farmer, the property had provided sustenance for numerous families and households, and the development would force at least 15,000 farmers to leave their homes.
Since Mr. Rotimi Wemimo is egocentric, hostile to Ondo State farmers, and working to further private investors’ interests rather than the government’s, we are urging Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to fire him.
“We are firmly requesting that Mr. Ayo Sotinrin step down from his position as MD of Bank of Agriculture immediately due to a conflict of interest. If he remains in his position, we urge President Bola Tinubu to remove him.”
Noting that SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited had processed the land allocation, paid the required fees, and secured a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), Sotinrin denied that the company was dispossessing farmers in the state of their farms when approached.