NDC Will Use Legal Means To Frustrate Implementation Of Agyapa Royalties Deal

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Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Mahama says his party will use legal methods to frustrate the implementation of the Agyapa Minerals Royalties agreement. Addressing the chiefs and people of Kaleo as part of his tour of the Upper West Region, he said there are a lot of questions surrounding the Agyapa deal due to lack of transparency by government.

He said, therefore, until government include relevant stakeholders and come to a consensus on how the Agyapa Minerals Royalty Limited needs to be managed, the NDC party will adopt all lawful means to prevent the deal from being implemented

The former President said, my advice to President Akufo-Addo is that he should desist from signing that Agyapa deal immediately because as we have said, we are going to oppose it and we will do everything legitimately in our power to frustrate that agreement in the interest of the people of Ghana. They should bring that agreement back hold a meeting with the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), chiefs and all the stakeholders to whom that gold royalty belong and let there be a consensus on how we want to monetize our gold royalties.

Former President Mahama further reiterated his stand that should he win the 2020 general election his government will not respect the deal. Mr Mahama further said that the attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to justify the Agyapa deal in the name of the 2011 proposed Ghana Gold Company is both inaccurate and disingenuous. According to him, the proposed company was 100 per cent owned by the government and people of Ghana hence, it had no secret beneficial owners.

He said, a small group of people cannot go and write an agreement and monitise our gold royalties for the next 15 years and even in perpetuity without our consent. There must be a consensus before our royalties are monitised.

The Public Relations Officer of National House of Chiefs, Stephen Owusu has urged Ghanaians to disregard a statement circulating on social media and in some newspapers regarding former President John Dramani Mahama’s tribal comments on social media. According to him, the National House of Chiefs has not released any statement in that regard, alleging that someone used the Institution’s letter head to issue the statement. This follows a highly ethnocentric post made by the Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress on his Facebook timeline few days ago.

In the post which seems to suggest that the Agyapa Royalties Investment deal was a fraudulent deal between President Akufo-Addo and the people of Akyem in the Eastern Region, Mr Mahama uncharitably descended on the good people of Akyem, describing them in unprintable words. The post, which was initially written and shared by the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga, Isaac Adongo, was further shared by Mr Mahama on his Facebook page on Monday, August 31, 2020.

Speaking in an interview on Atinka TV’s Morning Show, Ghana Nie, Stephen Owusu said the National House of Chiefs will call on the IGP and the Director General of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to come into the matter and bring the culprits into book.

He said, although technology has come to help us to develop, this is not the way we want it, but to use the letterhead of the National House of Chiefs to issue statement. We will call on the IGP and the Director General of Criminal Investigations Department (CID), to come into the matter and bring the culprits into book. The President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV has not made any comments with regards to what former President Mahama posted. We have not taken any decision on what Mahama did because we held a meeting on just last Friday and if something is happens, the Chiefs will condemn what is wrong, but it is unfortunate that this has been attributed to the President of the National House of Chiefs.