Babatope Okeowo 
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has strongly criticized the State government over the alleged eviction and mistreatment of farmers operating within the Oluwa Forest Reserve (OA3A) in Odigbo Local Government Area.
In a statement released on Wednesday by the PDP’s Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Leye Igbagbo, the opposition party accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration of attempting to dispossess farmers of their legally allocated farmlands, despite having collected substantial levies and dues from them over the years.
This follows a response from Governor Aiyedatiwa, who, through his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, faulted the protesting farmers, accusing them of exceeding the boundaries of land originally allocated to them.
The governor insisted that the farmers had encroached on government land and that the dispute was not with the private company involved, but with the farmers who violated the terms of allocation.
Reacting to this stance, the PDP condemned what it described as inhumane treatment of the farmers and accused the government of reneging on its commitments after collecting millions of naira in rent, security dues, and identity card levies from the affected farmers.
“The government has brought in so-called investors to destroy the cocoa plantations painstakingly cultivated by these farmers, with the aim of planting palm oil trees. This action is not only wicked but fundamentally fraudulent,” the PDP said.
The party further questioned the rationale behind replacing cocoa with palm oil on lands already yielding income for the farmers, describing it as a wasteful and economically unjustifiable move.
“Our party finds it hard to fathom the government’s motives behind destroying sprawling cocoa plantations for palm oil plantations when both crops are of similar economic value,” Igbagbo said.
“These cocoa farms represent years of hard work and investment. Their destruction is an attack on the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens.”
The PDP maintained that Ondo State has vast tracts of arable land suitable for new agricultural projects and argued that, if truly driven by the interest of the people, the government could have identified alternative sites rather than displacing existing farmers.
The statement warned of the potential socio-economic consequences of the government’s actions, citing the risk of “starvation, deprivation, frustration, increased crime, avoidable violence, and untimely deaths.”
The party concluded with a call for Governor Aiyedatiwa to govern with compassion and prioritize the welfare of citizens: “We urge the Governor to reconsider this self-serving agenda and allow the poor farmers to breathe and enjoy the fruits of their years of labour.”
Efforts to reach the state government for further comments on the matter were still ongoing as of press time.
