The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has raised concerns over an alleged plan by Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration to hand over the Agodi Government Fish Farm in Ibadan to Baywood Estate, accusing the government of converting public assets into private property.
The party alleged that the proposed move was part of a wider plan to expand the private housing estate around the Agodi Government Secretariat, following the recent destruction of a section of the former conservation forest in the area.
The 40-year-old fish farm, located between Agodi Gardens and Dandaruu Stream in the heart of Ibadan, is a major agricultural facility housing offices, laboratories, demonstration farms, fish ponds and training centres for students, staff and practising and prospective fish farmers.
The facility also houses the Ogunpa Lake, where different species of local and exotic fish are bred for educational and commercial purposes.
In a statement issued on Friday and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, accused the Makinde administration of pursuing what it described as a wasteful approach to governance through the alleged sale of government lands and properties to private interests.
The party also blamed the administration for what it described as a poor maintenance culture, claiming that several valuable public assets had deteriorated since Makinde assumed office in 2019.
Sadare said the party had uncovered fresh moves by the governor and his alleged associates to expand private housing projects around the Agodi Government Secretariat, warning that the Government Fish Farm could be the next facility to be affected.
“We have uncovered fresh plans by Gov. Makinde and his cronies to expand the private Housing Estate projects around Agodi Government Secretariat which has birthed Baywood Estate. After the destruction of the enviable green zone that protects the environment around the area, the next in the line for Governor Makinde is to level up the Government Fish Farm facility with a view to joining the large expanse of land, which it occupies, with the private estate,” the statement said.
The APC further questioned the administration’s commitment to agriculture and environmental protection, arguing that the proposed conversion of the fish farm would amount to destroying a facility that had served educational and commercial purposes for nearly four decades.
It listed Trans Amusement Park, Agodi Gardens, the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), Oyo State Library Board and the State Water Corporation among public institutions it claimed had suffered neglect under the present administration.
The party also expressed concern over the future of other government facilities in the area, including the Agodi Government Secretariat, Government House and the Cultural Centre complex.
The APC urged Makinde to suspend the alleged plan to cede the fish farm to Baywood Estate and abandon any move to convert other public facilities into private property.
It also called on elders and concerned residents of the state to prevail on the governor against the alleged transfer, warning that those involved would eventually be held accountable for government lands and properties purportedly sold or illegally taken over.
