I have no knowledge about deployment of macho men to Gwira - Okoben Mining Boss

The Managing Director (MD) of Okoben Mining Company Limited Nana Okoben Amponsah, has denied allegations of deployment of hundreds of macho men to guard various lands in Gwira Traditional Area in the Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira Municipality of the Western Region.

Nana Okoben Amponsah has also rubbished the allegations leveled against him by the Chief of Gwira Banso, Nana Ette Akrade II, and Chief of Gwira Abelebu, Nana Dominle Mieza II to the effect that he brought the gun weirdly macho-men and other security personnel to visit attacks on the residents at their farmlands in Gwira Traditional Area.

The Ghanaian business tycoon re-emphasized that it is not true that he has issued the dud cheques to defraud elders and farmers in Gwira in payment of their compensation packages, saying that his outfit has contributed immensely to the livelihoods of the chiefs and people in Gwira.

The Ghanaian business mogul admitted adopting security measures to protect his gold mining concession at Dominase in Gwira from the invasion of illegal small-scale miners but denied using macho-men and other security personnel to attack residents on his mining concession in Gwira Traditional Area.

Nana Okoben Amponsah described as completely fake and libelous stories being paddled by the two chiefs that the deployment of these macho-men were done by some top shots of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western Region.

He explained that "The NPP top government officials were aware of who sent these macho-men to the lands in the area, so l have no hands in the deployment of these thugs to the lands at Gwira."

"I am challenging Nana Ette Akrade II who is a military officer and still in active service to use his influence to report this matter of invasion of the macho men on the lands of Gwira Traditional Area to the national security Minister to immediately deploy the team of the national security personnel to flush out these men on the lands if indeed they claimed that l, [Nana Okoben Amponsah] has brought the macho-men to guide the lands for me," Nana Okoben Amponsah fired back.

"And as l am talking to journalists today, the lands that Nana Ette Akrade II mentioned that the macho men were deployed to guide in Gwira, what you go there today you see about three hundreds macho men there being deployed by some current NPP government appointees but not Nana Okoben Amponsah as claimed by Nana Dominle Mieza II and Nana Ette Akrade II who had made such fake statements on the Joy Television in Accra on Tuesday, February 6, 2023," he stressed.

On the issue of pollution of the River Ankobra, Nana Okoben Amponsah stated that it is true that the gold mining activities of the company have polluted River Akonbra, stressing that he has been mining gold on his concession at Dominase in Gwira for many years without violating Minerals and Mining Act.

The seasoned miner described the chief of Banso as ‘ the biggest liar’ in Ghana, stressing that the allegations levelled against him that his outfit is polluting River Akonbra are absolutely false.

He further stressed that the allegations were mischievously designed by the two chiefs and their paymasters to disparage him, stain his reputation, court public disaffection for him and to bring him into abhorrence in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public and the global community.

He maintained that his reputation has been “violently damaged” and called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and general public, particularly citizens of Gwira Traditional Area to disregard the publication made against him by these chiefs.

"I want to officially inform President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that Nana Okoben Amponsah l have done no wrong."Since l secured my concession at Dominase in Gwira and got the necessary legal license and permit from the state mining regulatory institutions including Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency, l have been using legal means to work on my gold mining concession and put in place measures to fight galamseyers from destroying the river Akonbra and environment including the forest range reserves.

"I have followed all the terms and conditions in my contractual agreement l made to the elders of the Gwira Stool. There are documentary evidences that clearly shows that since l started mining in the area, l have been lawfully paying compensation packages to the farmers, particularly the cocoa-growing ones. So there are no truth that my company has deprived the affected cocoa farmers in payment of their compensation packages due them," he explained.


According to them, because of the company's illegal activities, its operational works have degraded their land and polluted it’s rivers such as River Ankobra, streams and other river bodies on the said concession.

They pointed out that Mr. Amposah is using methods to intimidate Nananom and the people of Gwira Traditional Area with armed land guards with offensive weapons.

The two stated that the company has failed to compensate cocoa and other farmers whose farms have been destroyed depriving them their livelihood. When the elders demanded land compensation, the company issued dull cheques to defraud us.

In a response, Nana Okoben Amponsah re-emphasized that the activities of his company not did pollute the River Akonbra as being claimed by Nana Ette Akrade II and Nana Dominle Mieza II on Joy Television in Accra.

On the allegations of issuing of dub cheques to the chiefs to paying compensation to the farmers, Nana Okoben Amponsah noted that it is not true saying that there are documentary evidence that all the farmers who were affected as a result of the mining activities of his company were dully compensated.

He noted that he has become a prime target of attack by these chiefs including thousands of illegal small-scale miners, who are indiscriminate, adding that the illegal small-scale mining activities of these galamseyers in these communities were rather destroying river Akonbra and other water bodies but not his company.

"I am saying that the people in these communities in the Gwira Traditional Area were aware that there are a lot of illegal small-scale mining activities ongoing in these communities by local including thousands of foreign nationals, particularly the Chinese illegal miners whose activities have polluted River Akonbra and not the activities of the Okoben Mining Company Limited," he reiterated.

He stated that "As l am speaking to you now, the Okoben Mining Company Limited has led the police from Axim to arrest a Chinese illegal miner and many Ghanaians within his concession at Dominase and now the case is being processed before the law court.