Residents of Etomi in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State have taken to the streets in protest, expressing strong opposition to the state government’s move to privatize a cocoa estate located in their community.
Among the demonstrators were elderly cocoa farmers and youths actively engaged in the cocoa value chain.
They marched with placards bearing bold messages such as: “Our cocoa estate is not for sale”, “We say no to privatization of our cocoa estate”, “Don’t deprive us of our rights”, and “We won’t accept privatization of our estate.”
The protesters called on the government to reverse its decision, warning that the move would have a damaging impact on their livelihoods.
Addressing reporters during the protest, community elder Mr. Mbek Agbor-Tangban recalled the historical agreement between their forebears and the government, which he said should be honored.
“Government ought to have consulted us as the landlord community, given the expanse of land we donated for the estate,” he said.
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“We are reacting to the government’s publication in the Nigerian Chronicles dated June 25, 2025, that the Privatization Council is set to receive bids for the privatization of our estate without our knowledge.
“This intent to privatise the estate is without regard to earlier agreement with our grandparents. We should have been the first people the government ought to have consulted.
“The agreement is very clear, that if the government wants to privatize or sublet, they ought to consult first with the landlords.”
He further stressed that the community reserves the right of first refusal in any privatization process, and only if they decline should the government advertise the sale publicly, in line with the original terms.
Also speaking, Etomi women leader Ntunkai Mary-Ndum maintained that the land rightfully belongs to the people, emphasizing that the government should step aside if it is no longer interested in supporting the smallholder farmers.
“If the state government was no longer interested in the smallholders farmers scheme, they should visit the estate and pull off their cocoa stems and leave our land,” she declared.
Youth leader Abang Shikina-Oji added that privatizing the estate without local involvement would put the host community at a serious disadvantage, urging the government to reconsider its approach.
The estate, one of several agricultural ventures initiated in the late 1950s by then Eastern Region Premier Michael Okpara, remains a key economic asset to the people of Etomi.
Responding to the protest, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo, assured the public that the government had no intention of working against the interest of the community.
“The governor will assuage whatever concerns the people have. As I speak, he is ready to review anything that causes his people pain,” Ebokpo stated.