The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has declared as void parcels of lands at the Achimota Forest and the Ramsar Site, Sakumono, contained in an alleged will of the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie. He has subsequently directed Lands and Forestry Commission to take the appropriate actions in that regard.
A statement signed by the Minister and issued in Accra yesterday said preliminary inquiries revealed that there were no records of ownership at the Lands Commission by Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie.
The alleged will by the late Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, popularly called Sir John, is a subject matter of litigation in the court.
“That said, given the totality of the circumstances of the said allegations, I, as Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, have directed the Lands and Forestry Commissions to deem any ownership of lands, both in the Achimota Forest and the Sakumono Ramsar Site by the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie as void and are to take the appropriate actions accordingly,” he said.
In the statement, which has been reproduced at our centre pages today, the Minister explained why the bequeathing of the said lands will not pass any title to the beneficiaries in the alleged will.
The former General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, has been the subject of public discussion since a document purporting to be his last will emerged on social media.
