The appointment of the Managing Director of Kogi Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Oyisi Okatahi, has been terminated.
In a letter signed by the secretary to the state government, Dr. Folashade Ayoade, Okatahi was directed to hand over to the most senior officer in the agency.
Oyisi Okatahi, one of the young technocrats attracted to drive the economic policy of the state government is leaving Kogi ADP shoulders high as one of the top rated performers in the Yahaya Bello-led administration.
In October 2017, Oyisi Okatahi-led management of Kogi Agricultural Development Project (Kogi ADP) successfully signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop 20 hectares of land for cassava production that will be used for bio-fuels production. The ethanol project is expected to create over 100,000 jobs for farmers and outgrowers.
Few months after the landmark MoU signing, Kogi ADP began clearing 12,500 hectares of land in the Osara, Adavi Local Government Area of the state for cassava cultivation and processing under its Fair Agric Project (FAP). The land paved way for the establishment of the Cassava City Osara.
The city would involve the entire value chain of cassava, including farmers, agro chemical and equipment dealers, extension agents, processors, among others. This is the first of its kind in Kogi.
At the Cassava City Day held at Confluence Stadium Lokoja on 15 November 2018, the Cassava City investors, Contec Global, Geron Oil & Gas and Jil Farms announced that they have commenced work at the Cassava City, Osara.
The Director Contec Global, Dr Sashi Mozumder stated that his company in partnership with Geron Oil & Gas, Praj India and NNPC will be producing 40,000 liters of bio-ethanol per day. The investment start up on a turnkey basis is 25 Million USD. The plant will employ over 2500 people on a full time basis.
Aside his trailblazing efforts with the Cassava City Osara, Okatahi introduced several innovations in the day-to-day running of Kogi ADP. Under his leadership, Kogi Agricultural Development Project (ADP) deployed an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to help extension workers easily capture farmer’s data and collaborate across the state.
In June 2018, Kogi ADP launched Fish Feed Mill with a daily capacity of 500Kg/day at its headquarters in Lokoja together with a Fish Training Centre.
Okatahi-led management launched an online directory for farmers in the state to enable farmers benefit from Kogi ADP agricultural extension services. He also listed agricultural equipment available for lease at Kogi ADP.
The termination of Okatahi’s appointment takes immediate effect. No reason was given for Okatahi’s disengagement.
