President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Mr Ayo Sotnrin as the Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture. 

In a press release by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Tinubu on information and strategy, he said the appointment is with immediate effect.

Onanuga said ‘Sotinrin brings a diverse and extensive background in both the private and public sectors to his new role, having consulted for global institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), Department for International Development (DFID), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Ayo Sotinrin has extensive experience in the public and private sectors, spanning large scale commercial agriculture, finance, investment banking, management consultancy, and advisory roles.

Until his appointment, Mr. Sotinrin served as Group CEO of SAO Group and, prior to that, as CEO of SAO Agro—one of Africa’s leading food and agri-business companies focused on agriculture and agro-allied services. Under his leadership, the firm SAO Agro is currently developing a 20,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Ondo State, Nigeria. Other value chains in its business include an annual poultry production and processing capacity of five million birds, alongside aquaculture, maize, and cassava. He further expanded operations across Ogun, Ondo, and Kwara States.

SAO is currently the anchor investor for the Ondo State “Special Agro-processing Zone project” spanning 3,000 Hectares to accommodate large scale agro commodity processors from different countries.

Looking ahead, the company is set to commission new projects across additional farmland in Edo, Osun, Ogun, and other eastern states. It also plans to rehabilitate a 30,000-metric-ton-capacity cocoa processing factory to enhance Nigeria’s agro-processing capabilities. The company has also spearheaded rural development initiatives, including dam repairs, bridge and road construction, health centre rehabilitation, and scholarships for local youth pursuing formal education.

Mr. Sotinrin also served as CEO of SAO Capital, where he led the firm’s appointment as the sole Investment and Multilateral Advisory Partner to the Ondo State Government. During this time, he raised over $750 million for development projects such as the $200 million Akure Water Supply Infrastructure Project, large-scale agriculture financing, over 200 healthcare solar electrification projects, and more than 150 kilometers of rural road construction.

He has served as a senior advisor on several high-level federal and state government programmes funded by development partners including the World Bank, AfDB, DFID, AFD, USAID, and UNDP. Notably, he spent six years as a Senior Consultant to the World Bank on a $115 million PPP infrastructure concessioning project, seconded to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) under the Presidency. He was also part of the UK Government–funded Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF I & II).

From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Sotinrin served as Special Adviser on Environment and Urban Development to the Honourable Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory. Before his return to Nigeria, he held roles at Royal Bank of Scotland International (serving the British Isles: Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man), Deutsche Bank, Thomson Reuters, and the UK Environment Agency.

He currently serves on the boards of several organisations, including Africa 2.0, where he was Nigeria Country Chapter Head and a member of the global board. He was named one of the “New Leaders for Tomorrow” by the Crans Montana Forum in Switzerland, and recognised as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent.

He holds an MBA from Said Business School, Oxford University, an Advanced Undergraduate degree in Environmental Conservation & Management from Oxford University, and an MSc in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University.