… Say Sotinrin Has Resigned From SAO
Sam Philip
Sequel to the protest by Oluwa Forest Reserve farmers in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, the Vice President of SAO Agro-Allied Services Limited, David Olijogun has denied the allegation of planned forceful eviction and grading of the cocoa plantations of the farmers.
Ondo State Internal Revenue Service(ODIRS) was indicted in the crisis rocking the allocation of land to the investors in the forest reserve and the farmers.
Olijogun said the firm is not owned by land grabbers, explaining that the was allocated to them legally by Ondo State government and all necessary money was paid.
He said the firm secured the Certificate of Occupancy(C-of-O) of the land since 2021.
Olijogun also disclosed that the Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture(BOA), Ayo Sotinrin resigned from SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd on April 7, 2025.
According to him, explained that SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd came to Ondo State to grow palm oil following the decision of the Federal Government to improve on oil palm production.
Ondo State dileniate 100,000 hectares of its forest reserves across the state to execute the project supported by Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).
SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd is among the investors that invested in oil palm in Ondo State when the project started.
Buttressing Olijogun, the Chief Operating Officer of SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd, Uthama SeelanKandasamy said what the farmers at Oluwa Forest are doing has begun to scare intending investors from coming to the state.
He declared that his firm is an international one with sound track records, saying they are not land grabbers.
Meanwhile, Chief Henry Oladunjoye, Executive Secretary, Red Gold Forum, blamed Ondo State Internal Revenue Service(ODIRS) for the crisis in Oluwa Forest Reserve.
He alleged that officials of ODIRS were I sincere as they collect tax from the major investors and still went behind to collect levies from the farmers who are illegal occupants of the forest reserve.
“A call by Federal Government to bridge the deficit found in Agric sector, particularly in palm oil production, made Federal Government to call on investors to invest in Agric.
“It was identified that some Forest Reserves were idle and not generating revenue for government in Ondo State.
“The state government dileniate some of its forest reserves, that is, forest laws removed for the investors to plant there.
100,0000 hectare allocated to investors.
“10,000 hectares was allocated to us and we paid necessary revenues. We have got the C-of-O since 2021. We paid all dues to the state government. We followed due process to get the lands.
“We pay average of N40m annually as tax to the state coffees.
“We have planted 130,000 oil palm and we still have 123,000 in the nursery to plant now.
“We have put in place various infrastructure facilities in farms and host communities besides the scholarship plan for students in the community as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR).
“We have invested over N15 billion in the oil palm in Ondo State. N6bn will be lost if the palm in the nursery are not planted.
“We have employed over 1000 people with over N30m being paid per month as workers’ salaries.
Exonerating Ayo Sotinrin, the Vice President of SAO Agro-Allied Services Ltd said: Another thing I want to be made straight is the fact that they are now linking our former CEO with this issue that just happened yesterday.
“Our former CEO resigned on 7th of April. He was appointed the MD of Bank of Agriculture. So, he has resigned.
“Even all these things have been happening for the past 2, 3, 4 years. It’s not just happening because he was appointed the MD. Because the news I heard was that he is using his power to grab land from them. And this has been happening before he became the MD. and we have not even started to do anything at all.”
The investors, therefore, called on the Federal Government and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intervene in the crisis.
They disclosed that some investors, who had shown interest in the state, have begun to develop cold feet in bringing their money to the state.
Olijogun said: “We want the state government and Federal Government to step into this. Some investors have been discouraged. The state will be affected by the actions of the farmers.
“So, all these things happening is just a way of stopping development in this state by some people who are illegal occupants.
“They are illegal occupants And I don’t believe that the government will be so unserious that they will give us C-of-O and at the same time, they will give another document to people who are not even living there legally.”
