Cashew Industry Needs Sector-savvy Leadership – Adesokan

National president of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Ademola Adesokan, has said that the group needs stable and experienced leadership to reposition Nigeria’s cashew industry for global competitiveness.

Adesokan who responded to inquiry on his expulsion by a parallel leadership within the association in Abuja yesterday, maintained that the Ajanaku-led leadership lacked the legal authority to suspend or expel members of the group.

He said he emerged president at the association’s annual general meeting held in Lagos on January 20, 2026, noting that Ajanaku’s tenure expired in November 2022 in line with the provisions of NCAN’s 2007 constitution, which stipulates a single three-year term for elected officers.

Adesokan described recent attempts by Ajanaku to suspend members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and challenge the current leadership as unlawful and contrary to an existing court judgment.

He anchored his position on a consent judgment delivered by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on November 9, 2019, in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/439/2016.

He also dismissed claims that the association’s Board of Trustees had been expanded from five to eleven members, describing the assertion as inconsistent with records at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

According to him, certified CAC documents recognise only five trustees: Tunji Owoeye, Bode Omoyeni, Sonie Stevenson, Ade Adesida and Tola Faseru, whom he identified as founding members of the association.

Adesokan warned that prolonged leadership disputes could negatively affect investor confidence and farmer welfare at a time when the cashew sector requires coordinated policy engagement and stability.

He stressed that Nigeria must move beyond the export of raw commodities and embrace value addition in line with the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025 and the economic vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said, “Ajanaku has no authority to expel me or suspend the BoT leadership. His tenure has long ended, and any such actions are invalid.

“You cannot override a court judgment with a press conference or meeting resolution. Authority in NCAN comes from law and structure, not claims. This is not a contest of opinions, it is a matter of a subsisting legal framework”.

“At a time when the cashew sector requires stability and coordinated policy engagement, actions that create parallel structures and confusion risk undermining investor confidence and farmer welfare.

“The association requires leadership grounded in practical industry experience. What the industry needs for the country to compete globally in the very competitive world of cashew, especially in line with the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025.

“Nigerian needs to move away from shipping out raw commodities and add values to local commodities which is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision,” he said.