President Nana Add Dankwa Akufo-Addo has finally responded to the controversial ‘Agyapadie (inheritance) book’ which was uncovered and first published by Awake News four years ago.
The President described the book as a “fabricated document”, and accused his political opponents of curating it.
Speaking at the Ghana Report Summit in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said “Today, with a few months to the 2024 elections, they [his rivals] are at it again. The fabricated document entitled ‘Agyapadie’ is being spread around by operatives of the opposition as evidence of a grand scheme by my party to annex the assets of the state.”
Prior to that, the Okyehene, Osagyefuo Nana Amoatia Ofori Panin, said the book was a deliberate piece of work targeted at causing disaffection for the Akyems and the Okyeman.
In his address at a council meeting of the Akyem Abuakwa State on July 27th 2024, the King said the book has been fabricated to cause hatred against Okyeman and the Ofori Panin household. He further called on Ghanaians to disregard the book.
What’s in the ‘Agyapadie book’?
The infamous document started circulating in the media space in 2020 as a result of a well-executed investigative work by Awake News.
The ‘AGYAPADIE’ (inheritance) book, at best, can be described as a documented grand scheme to capture some sectors of Ghana’s economy by a section of the Akyems in the current NPP regime. The book gives the blueprint of how sectors such as energy, finance, and mining would be captured and controlled by some individuals in the Akuffo-Addo-led administration.
Though government has denied this document on many platforms, it is critical to note that some of these plans and activities in the book have already been executed.
These include the removal of Mustapha Hamid from the Ministry of Information to the National Petroleum Authority due to credibility crisis; closure of some pro-NDC radio stations and later selling the frequencies to affiliated NPP members; the Agyapa LLC, and PDS deals; as well as, the promotion of Kofi Bosompem Osafo Marfo, son of Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo Marfo, to the position of Director General of SSNIT.
A step by step study of the book, as stipulated below, will help Ghanaians to draw their conclusion on the authenticity of the document.
Phase two of the said document outlines how the financial sector would become a dynasty for some elements of the Akyem NPP. According to the book, this target would be achieved through a ‘Financial sector clean-up’.
The book, in page three, stated that “The economy and financial systems constitute the nerves of every country. Indeed, political power and economic control are inextricably linked in such a way that any group that controls economic might of a nation essentially control its political power. Our agenda for political dominance would hinge on our financial might. We therefore, need overwhelming control of the key economic growth pillars of Ghana.”
It continued, “Again, control of key economic and financial sectors would give unparalleled leverage in the periods we may not have direct political authority. With economic power, we could manipulate the system to generate an unfavorable economic situation enough to make any government of the day, not directly under our control, to become unpopular”.
Pages 8-19 touched on the Insurance sector, Capital market and Mining, Oil and Gas Industries. It highlighted the establishment of the controversial Agyapa LLC and the coherent takeover of the mining sector.
A Portion of the book read, “Our mining, as well as oil & gas strategies constitute a major plank of the blueprint for controlling the extraction of natural resources which God has generously bestowed on Ghana; particularly the Akyem land.
“Growing environmental factors are rendering risky our use of illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) as a source of financing our political objectives. There is therefore the need to roll out a more rigorous legal means of controlling significant stake in the legal gold value chain.”
It further stated that “To this end, a cursory look at the approved concessions should be looked at. Asante Bediatuo is to lead the process to take over these concessions detailed below and consolidate them into the extended Agyapa LLC, incorporated in Jersey.”
Kindly let us know your take on the authenticity of the ‘Agyapadie book’ in the comment section below.