The Afero Commercial Farmers Association from Eluju-Mowo in Ibeju Lekki has appealed to the Lagos State Government for urgent intervention over what it describes as a three-year crisis that had left members in severe economic and health distress.
Addressing a News Conference at Alausa, with a letter signed by
the Afero Commercial Farmers Association’s Chairman, Wale Oyekoya, and Secretary, Idowu Dalegan, the group said a dispute that started as a legal and administrative matter in 2023 had since escalated into a humanitarian emergency.
The association called for compensation and relocation of about fifty commercial farmers, as two members had died within the period, while several others were facing serious health conditions.
The farmers, who claimed being contributors to Lagos State’s Food Supply Chain and Agricultural Development, said the prolonged disruption of their activities had cut off their main source of income and taken a heavy emotional, financial, and physical toll as they had lost over three billion naira worth of farm produce.
According to the Association, the state government had constituted a committee made up of the Commissioner for Agriculture and food systems as well as the Attorney-General to review the case, and that the committee had submitted its report but however said no definitive action or official communication has followed.
The Association also referenced President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stating that the delay in resolving the matter risks undermining goals around economic recovery, social welfare, and food security, appealing for the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s immediate intervention to ensure a prompt and fair resolution.
The farmers, urged the state government to act swiftly to resolve the matter, stressing that their appeal is not only for justice but for survival.
Highpoint of the event was a peaceful protest after the briefing, as farmers displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Governor Sanwo-Olu, food security starts with farmers, don’t kill them,” “Three years without farming is a sentence to poverty,” and “We have families to feed and bills to pay.”
Reporting By Abiola PETERS