The Federal College of Agriculture, Akure, Ondo State, on Wednesday, appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the activities of land grabbing that challenge the institution faces.
According to the college, the increasing activities of land grabbers threaten the agriculture institution’s projects, infrastructure, and the safety of both staff and students, hence the need for government intervention.
The school has reportedly been having a legal battle over the years with some families over the ownership of a part of the land. The matter is still pending at the Supreme Court of Ondo State.
The Acting Provost of the institution, Dr Rasheed Folorunsho, who appealed while speaking with journalists during a visit by the Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Abubakar Dabban, to the campus, lamented that the land dispute had dragged on for years, exposing the institution to serious risks.
He disclosed that the land grabbers had destroyed several projects belonging to the college, while creating an atmosphere of insecurity that had left staff and students living in fear.
The FECA boss warned that without urgent action, the college’s mission of advancing agricultural education and research could be severely hampered.
He said, “The essence of this visit is for the Executive Secretary to come and pay a courtesy visit to FECA to see how things are going around and how he can help us in the predicament we are having, most especially on the issue of the land grabbers.
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”We have been affected in many ways. They have destroyed most of the university’s things, projects, and the lives of staff and students are not safe. Anytime we are going out, we always pray to God to let us return in peace. We are calling on the Federal Government to come to our aid and bail us out of this predicament.
”We have been on this issue for years, and still, we are yet to be out of it, so with the intervention of the new ES we are looking up to God that he will come to our rescue and give us succor.”
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, ARCN Abubakar Dabban, noted that the council would work on plans to address the issue of land grabbers facing the institution.
He revealed that the council had directed the instruction to write a memo giving details of the situation so as to enable them to properly address the issue.
”Rome was not bilt in a day. We are working around the clock to see that the issue is addressed. We have given a directive to the college to send a memo to us. We want to know where they have stopped so that we will know where to come in, we don’t just want to dabble into the issue without having our facts,” the don explained.
It was reported on December 22, 2023, that the provost of the agriculture institution, Dr Albert Fadiyimu, had called on the Federal and Ondo State Governments to save the college from looming extinction.
The provost lamented that over 75 per cent of the institution’s land had been encroached on by some land grabbers in the neighboring communities.
