President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's defense of Akonta Mining Limited has been described as Public Relations for a company that appears to be of great importance to the First Gentleman.

This is the view of Kobby Mensah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), who stressed that the company must be massively important for the president to be speaking for it.

He said in a tweet dated January 5, 2023 that the company's shares would have spiked if it happened to have been listed on the New York or London Stock Exchanges.

"If Akonta Mining was listed on the New York and London Stock Exchanges it shares would have been hitting the roof right now. For a whole President to do PR for you, wow that’s a massively important company, innit?" his tweet read.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at a gethering in Koforidua earlier this week stated that Akonta Mining, a company owned by Bernard Antwi Boasiako, alias Chairman Wontumi; is not engaged in illegal mining anywhere in the country.

President Akufo-Addo was incidentally responding to a renewed call for the arrest of Wontumi and other shareholders (over Akonta Mining's galamsey operations).

The president in delivering his remarks said: “Let me respond briefly to the chairperson on the issue of illegal mining. I want to assure him and all of you that Akonta Mining is not engaged in any illegal mining anywhere in Ghana as we speak.

“Further, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has through the agency of the Forestry Commission, with the assistance of the military, made the effort to cordon off all 294 sites of forest reserves in the country and rid them of illegal mining as we speak.”

In October last year, Akonta Mining was accused of operating from the Forest Reserve after they had a month prior clashed with some locals in the town of Samreboi in the Western North Region.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources ordered a halt to their operations in the forest but clarified that they had a valid mining license in areas outside of the natural habitat.

There was also a report that security operatives had raided one of the operational sites of the comoany in the forest reserve, burning machines and structures.

If Akonta Mining was listed on the New York and London Stock Exchanges it shares would have been hitting the roof right now ????. For a whole President to do PR for you, wow that’s a massively important company, innit ????‍♂️ #AkontaMining

— Dr. Kobby Mensah (@thePOE_T) January 5, 2023