The Minority in Parliament has slammed the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for allegedly claiming credit for recent oil discoveries that, according to them, were made during the tenure of former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
At a press briefing, Afigya Kwabre North MP and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, stated that the Akoma and Eban-1X oil discoveries were made in 2019 and 2021, respectively, well before the NDC returned to power.
He clarified that ENI Ghana, operator of the Cape Three Points (CTP) Block 4, had formally notified the Ministry of Energy, the Petroleum Commission, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) of these discoveries at the time, in line with the petroleum agreement.
“ENI issued official notices of discovery to the relevant agencies under the Akufo-Addo administration. These were not secret and were even reported by local media,” Adomako-Mensah said.
He accused the NDC government of attempting to take political credit for discoveries it had no involvement in.
“The Mahama administration played no role in the drilling of the Akoma and Eban wells, nor in approving the appraisal programmes. Yet it is now claiming the results as its achievement. This is misleading and disingenuous,” he added.
Adomako-Mensah stressed that under Ghana’s petroleum laws, it is the responsibility of the operator, not the government, to report the outcome of appraisal activities.
“In our upstream petroleum sector, it is the contractor who is mandated to inform the state of any discovery or appraisal outcome. That’s exactly what ENI has done.”
He further accused the NDC of turning a routine technical update into a political spectacle.
“The Mahama administration is trying to turn a standard industry report into a political celebration, even though it’s been in office for less than seven months. This is nothing but an attempt to mislead Ghanaians,” he added.
