Prisons, Judicial Services lands were sold before Akufo-Addo took office — Lands Ministry refutes Ablakwa claims

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has refuted claims by MP for North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that lands belonging to key state institutions were sold by the current Akufo-Addo administration amid allegations of state capture.

In a press release dated July 16, the Lands Ministry said transactions relating to lands occupied by the Prisons Service at Roman Ridge and the Judicial Service at Cantonments took place much earlier under different governments.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the lease and/or sale of the land at Roman Ridge, allocated to the Prison Service, the subject matter of the Member of Parliament's allegation, was made in the year 2005, and certainly not under the current administration," the release reads in part.

Similarly, it said the land belonging to the Judicial Service that was leased to private company Frimps Oil in 2015 also predates the current government.

"The lease and/or sale of the land at Cantonment allocated to the Judicial Service, the subject matter of the Member of Parliament's allegation, commenced in the year 2014, and concluded in the year 2015, through a fifty-year lease granted to Frimps Oil Company Ltd, on 13th July, 2015," the release stated.

The Lands Ministry has therefore described Ablakwa's claims of state capture by the Akufo-Addo government as "false", accusing the opposition MP of peddling falsehood to the public.