President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signaled a bold step toward repositioning Nigeria’s agricultural sector with the recent appointment of Mr. Ayo Sotinrin as the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture.
Sotinrin’s profile reflects a blend of private sector dynamism, public sector insight, and global experience which are indeed qualities that the administration considers pivotal to revitalising the institution.
Until his latest appointment, he served as Group Chief Executive Officer of SAO Group, where he oversaw diverse initiatives across agriculture, infrastructure, and development finance.
Under his leadership at SAO Agro, the company executed transformative agricultural projects, most notably the development of a 20,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Ondo State.
He also drove large-scale operations in poultry, aquaculture, maize, and cassava.
He was instrumental in raising over $750 million in infrastructure and development finance, including the landmark $200 million Akure Water Supply Project, which aimed to improve urban water delivery and resilience.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sotinrin is not a stranger to government service.
From 2011 to 2015, he served as Special Adviser on Environment and Urban Development to the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory.
He has also played advisory roles on federal and state-level projects, consulting for leading global development partners such as the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (formerly DFID), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
His career includes positions at prestigious organisations such as the Royal Bank of Scotland International, Deutsche Bank, and the UK Environment Agency, exposing him to global best practices in banking, environmental governance, and institutional reform.
He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, a Master’s degree in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University, and an Advanced Diploma in Environmental Conservation.
The Tinubu administration views Mr. Sotinrin’s appointment as critical to transforming the Bank of Agriculture into a vehicle for food sovereignty and rural prosperity.
