President to cut sod today for the commencement of petroleum hub project in Jomoro

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Ad­do will today go ahead with the sod- cutting ceremony for the commencement of the petroleum project in Jomoro in the Jomoro Munici­pality of the Western Region.

This is in spite of a petition submitted to the President by some concerned Nzemas and purport­ed land owners from the enclave where the project is intended to be established against its execution.

A letter addressed to leader of the Coalition of Concerned Nzema People (CCNP), Mr Isaac Kojo Ndede, and signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, said “I am instructed by the President of the Republic to acknowledge receipt of your petition dated August 15, 2024 and to respond to the matters raised therein.”

The letter said the petition had no evidence at­tached to substantiate claims made by the petition­ers except 83 pages of a list of alleged signatories.

It said the President had also received a letter dat­ed August 16, 2024, from the Western Nzema Tra­ditional Council, under the hand of its President, Awulae Annor Adjaye III, containing a comprehen­sive response to the matters raised in the petition.

“The response from the Western Nzema Tradi­tional Council denies the assertions in your petition and encourages the President to proceed with the sod-cutting ceremony on Monday, August 19, 2024 as the Petroleum Hub project is for the benefit of the people of Western Nzema,” the letter said.

Furthermore, the letter said in addition to that, the office of the President has had the opportunity to review all the documentation in respect of the Pe­troleum Hub project including the inter­locutory injunction ruling given by the High Court, Sekondi on November 22, 2021, confirming that the Petroleum Hub project should proceed.

It is also noted that the 20,000 acres of land for the Petroleum Hub project is the subject of compulsory acquisition by the State in accordance with the Constitution and the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036).

Mr Bediatuo said all processes for compulsory acquisition under the law had been complied with and this included extensive stakeholder consulta­tions.

“It is, thus, palpably false to state that the land in question is being registered in the name of Awulae Annor Adjaye III,” he said.

The Executive Secretary said in the light of the enumeration, the petition had been dismissed.

“The President will undertake the sod-cutting, as scheduled, for the commencement of the Petro­leum Hub project for the benefit of the country,” he empha­sised.