By Cross River
Farmers protest planned privatisation of cocoa estate
Summary
- Thousands oppose government move to privatise cocoa estate on ancestral land
- Community leaders say prior agreement requires consultation and first refusal
- State government promises to review concerns and protect public interest
Etomi, Cross River State, Nigeria – Thousands of smallholder farmers in Etomi, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State, staged a protest on 2 July 2025, rejecting the state government’s plan to privatise a cocoa estate situated on their ancestral land.
The demonstrators, including elderly men and women, youths, and women involved in cocoa processing, carried placards with messages such as “Our cocoa estate is not for sale” and “We won’t accept privatisation of our estate.” They accused the government of violating an agreement made with their forebears, who had donated the land for the estate under strict conditions.
Speaking during the protest, community leader Mbek Agbor-Tangban said the original agreement required that the government consult the Etomi people before any attempt to privatise or sublet the estate, and that the community must be given the right of first refusal.
He cited a publication from The Nigerian Chronicle dated 25 June 2025, in which the Cross River State Privatisation Council advertised tenders for the estate without any consultation with the community.
Women’s leader Ntunkai Mary-Ndum expressed anger over the development, stating, “If the government no longer supports the smallholder farmers’ scheme, it should remove its cocoa trees and return the land.”
Youth leader Abang Shikina-Oji warned that the planned privatisation could result in widespread unemployment and marginalisation of local people, many of whom depend on the estate for their livelihoods.
Responding to the protest, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Johnson Ebokpo, and Commissioner for Information, Erasmus Ekpang, said Governor Bassey Otu was committed to the welfare of the people and would review the situation to ensure that their interests were protected.
The protest highlights long-standing tensions in Cross River’s cocoa sector, particularly regarding land use, farmer rights, and equitable development in rural communities.
