Akufo Addo’s Nigerian Billionaire Friend In Airport Land Grab

-Reportedly Gifted Land Valued at US$139 Million 

In its unabated land-grabbing spree, the Akuffo Addo administration has reportedly gifted prime Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) lands to his controversial Nigerian billionaire friend.

The state lands near the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) have reportedly been sold to Heaven Builders Limited, a company owned by Benedict Peters, a Nigerian fugitive businessman who has reportedly employed Ghanaian fronts to cover the nepotistic deal from public scrutiny.

Akuffo Addo’s relationship with Benedict Peters is skin-deep, as this latest deal may be an offshoot of the groundwork laid down during the COVID-19 pandemic when Frontier Healthcare Services, Benedict Peters’ company with zero track record was practically gifted a shady deal to conduct COVID-19 testing deal at the Kotoka Airport.

The Frontiers deal saw one of the most blatant fleecing of travellers to Ghana and the audacious subjugation of public institutions like the Health Ministry and the Noguchi Research Institute to favour an unknown private company.

In the latest scandal involving Benedict Peters, the tell-tale signs of another state capture by the Akufo-Addo / Bawumia administration is apparent. According to the Ghana Institute of Surveyors sources have valued, a 1.7-acre parcel of the airport lands at over US$6.3 million back in 2019. However, Heaven Builders Limited is now claiming the current average value to be a paltry US$1.3 million per acre.

The development has sparked confusion between the GACL management, led by Managing Director Pamela Djamson-Tettey, and the board of directors chaired by Paul Adom-Otchere who was recently caught in the recent “Christmas Tree Scandal” at Kotoka.

While the management has garnered support from the workers’ union to protect the interests of the state, the Directors remain divided, with only a few members, including aligning with the management to protect state interest.

Under the agreement proposed by the GACL, 38.41 acres of land would be leased to anchor holders for US$85 million over 45 years.

However, Benedict Peters has demanded ownership of 62.14 acres for a 99-year lease in a counter-proposal deemed by analysts as detrimental to the country’s interests.

Based on the valuation by the Ghana Institute of Surveyors, the land in question, totalling 62.14 acres would be valued at over US$139 million. The reduced price offered by Heaven Builders Limited has raised concerns about the transaction which smells pungently of possible favouritism.

To add to the seething suspicion of state capture, investigators have found that Heaven Builders Limited allegedly lacks an office location in their official incorporation documents.

Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has been actively investigating the transaction, revealing the inconsistencies in Heaven Builders Limited’s claims, including the discovery that their provided office addresses in Tema and Accra do not match their respective physical locations.

These revelations have raised serious questions about the credibility and intentions behind the company’s involvement in the land acquisition.