Family, Ogun govt clash over alleged reallocation of 11-acre poultry farm to Chinese firm

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By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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The children of the late Alhaji Ganiyu Busari and the management of Constancy Farms, Fere Village, Jibowu, in 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.

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The family alleged that the proposed reallocation had subjected them and their workers to threats and intimidation, while attempts to demolish parts of the farm had allegedly caused damage to property and disrupted their poultry business.

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However, the Ogun State government, through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr Kayode Akinmade, said the reallocation was lawful, explaining that the family’s acquisition had been revoked after they failed to pay the required assessment fees within the stipulated period.

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Speaking with journalists, one of the late Busari’s children, Mr Azeez Busari, alleged that officials of the state government and representatives of the Chinese company had been pressuring the family to vacate the property, despite what he described as valid documents relating to their acquisition of the land.

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According to Busari, the dispute began in 2023 when representatives of the Chinese firm approached the family for four acres of land and an additional plot to create an access route to another parcel of about 40 acres belonging to the company in the area.

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Busari said the family agreed to release the requested portion, leaving about 11 acres on which Constancy Farms operates its poultry business.

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He alleged that the family was informed in 2025 by an official of the State government that the remaining portion had been reallocated to the Chinese company and that the family was expected to vacate the premises.

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“We asked the official if the government now does double allocation, but he said nothing,” Busari alleged.

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He said the family had documents relating to the assessment of the land, which he claimed were duly signed by the state government, adding that they had commenced payment of the assessed fees.

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According to him, the family subsequently requested official documents confirming the alleged reallocation, but had yet to receive them.

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

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“When we contacted the government, we were told that government was aware of the demolition and that it was just a preamble and a prelude to the demolition of the whole farm if we failed to agree to move away from the land,” he said.

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The family put the value of its investment in the farm at more than N1 billion, saying the facility has the capacity to accommodate 27,000 laying birds and a 10,000-capacity rearing pen.

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Busari said the farm also provides direct and indirect employment to several people whose livelihoods depend on its continued operation.

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“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,” he said.

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He also questioned the rationale behind what he described as the government’s decision to favour a foreign investor over an existing local agricultural business.

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“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.

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Busari appealed to Governor Abiodun and President Tinubu to intervene, stressing that a substantial portion of the family’s investment had been financed through loans and that the collapse of the farm could have severe financial consequences.

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

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“We don’t want any re-allocation. We don’t want anything that will destroy our business,” he said.

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He added, “It’s 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.”

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But the state government rejected the family’s account of the dispute.

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Reacting to the development, Akinmade said the reallocation of the land had the backing of the government and was carried out in accordance with the law.

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He explained that the family’s earlier acquisition was revoked because it allegedly failed to pay the assessment fees within the period stipulated by the government.

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“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.

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“Because they have defaulted, the government has the right to revoke their acquisition and give it to an investor who is willing to pay,” Akinmade said.

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He added that the new investor had, “on the ground of magnanimity”, built a new poultry pen for the family on the land reallocated to them, but alleged that the family had refused to relocate.

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“They are not willing to move and have rather resorted to the media to blackmail the government,” Akinmade alleged.

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