Family tackles Ogun over N1bn poultry land

The children of the late Alhaji Ganiyu Busari and the management of Constancy Farms in Fere Village, Jibowu, Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, have appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun and President Bola Tinubu to intervene in an alleged move by the state government to reallocate their 11-acre poultry farm to a Chinese-owned company.

The family claimed that the proposed takeover had subjected them and their workers to constant threats and intimidation, while alleged attempts to demolish parts of the farm had resulted in damage to their property and losses to their poultry business.

However, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, told our correspondent that the reallocation of the land housing the poultry farm had the backing of the government and was in accordance with the law.

Akinmade said the government revoked the family’s earlier acquisition of the land because they failed to pay the assessment fee within the stipulated time.

He said the law permitted the government to revoke land under such circumstances and allocate it to another investor willing to pay the required fees.

He explained, “The truth is that the land was acquired by this family some years back, but they failed to pay up the acquisition fees that the government asked them to pay within the stipulated time, and because they have defaulted, the government has the right to revoke their acquisition and give it to an investor who is willing to pay.

“And in this particular case, the new investor who got the land has also, on the grounds of magnanimity, built a new poultry pen for this family to use on the new land that has been re-allocated for them, but they are not willing to move and have rather resorted to the media to blackmail the government.”

Speaking earlier with journalists on Thursday, one of the late Busari’s children, Azeez Busari, alleged that officials of the Ogun State Government and representatives of the Chinese company had been pressuring the family to vacate the property despite what he described as valid documents supporting their ownership and acquisition of the land.

According to him, the dispute dated back to 2023 when representatives of the Chinese firm approached the family seeking four acres and a plot of land to create an access route to another parcel of about 40 acres owned by the company in the area.

He said the family agreed to release the requested portion, leaving them with about 11 acres on which they operate the poultry farm.

However, Busari said the family was informed in 2025 by the Ogun State Surveyor-General, Oladele Ewulo, that the remaining land had been reallocated to the Chinese company and that they were expected to vacate the premises.

“We asked him if the government now does double allocation, but he said nothing,” Busari alleged, adding that the family had documents relating to the land assessment duly signed by the state government and had commenced payment of the assessed fees.

He said the family subsequently requested official documents confirming the alleged reallocation but had yet to receive any.

Busari further alleged that, earlier in 2026, some individuals demolished part of the farm’s perimeter fence.

According to him, the farm represents an investment of more than N1bn, with facilities capable of housing 27,000 laying birds and a 10,000-capacity rearing pen.

He said the business also provides direct and indirect employment to several people whose livelihoods depend on the farm.

“It’s our father’s legacy, it’s a community to us, and we don’t have anything else that we can do apart from this poultry business,” Busari said.

He questioned the alleged decision to favour a foreign investor over a local agricultural business, noting that the Chinese company was also involved in poultry production.

“How can the same government that claims to be encouraging us to go into agriculture be backing foreign investors to undermine local investors and send us packing for no just cause?” he asked.

Busari appealed to Abiodun and Tinubu to intervene, saying the family’s investment was largely financed through loans and that the collapse of the farm could have serious financial consequences for the family.

Another member of the family, Olatunji Busari, corroborated the allegations and appealed to the state government to allow the family to continue operating the farm.

We don’t want any re-allocation. We don’t want anything that will destroy our business,” he said, adding that the farm was a family legacy being operated with borrowed funds.

“So, we beg Governor Abiodun to please come to our rescue because he is the father of all of us in the state,” he said.