Akufo-Addo Must Intervene In Shootings And Killings Of Indigenes! -In Ada Songor Lagoon
Principal elders of Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada Traditional Area who are the custodian owners of Ada Songor Lagoon lands in the Greater Accra Region have registered their displeasure at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for refusing to intervene in the numerous shootings and killings of indigenes who had opposed what they describe as the illegal and unlawful contract of Electrochem Ghana Limited to mine salt at Ada Songor Lagoon.
Freeman Koryekpor Awlesu Greater 
Principal elders of Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada Traditional Area who are the custodian owners of Ada Songor Lagoon lands in the Greater Accra Region have registered their displeasure at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for refusing to intervene in the numerous shootings and killings of indigenes who had opposed what they describe as the illegal and unlawful contract of Electrochem Ghana Limited to mine salt at Ada Songor Lagoon.
So far, the elders disclosed that the scores of indigines who are opposing the project were shot, killed, arrested, brutalized and sustained various degrees of injury for defying the moratorium banning the community members from winning salt in the lagoon.
They pointed out that the Songor Lagoon and its adjoining lands belong to the Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada which they have constitutional right to be informed even if Government is said to be holding in trust for us as stated in the PND Law 287."
"We are disappointed in President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who doubles as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for his long deafening silence over the killings and shootings of indigenes of Ada Songor communities who are also Ghanaians.
"But should in case when there are bloody violence clashes in other countries outside Ghana or other communities within Ghana like Ashanti, Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of Ghana, you would hear or see that the President together with his national security agencies would rush to these scenes of the conflicts to stop those crisis.
"So we, the elders of Ada want to ask that does it means that what are happenings in Ada Songor communities where many indigenes are being killed and injuried, our President Akufo-Addo is saying that he is not aware.?
"We the land owners of Ada are stating that it is time for President Akufo-Addo to call to order the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Electrochem Ghana Limited, Daniel Nii McKorley, puporlarly known as MacDan, because his Ada Songor Salt mining contract is fraud," the Libi Wornor, the Sub-chief Priest of Ada, Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo told DAILY ANALYST on Thursday July 2022.
Speaking on behalf of elders of Ada, Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo registered their displeasure with government and the traditional authority in the area for awarding a contract to Electrochem Ghana Limited to mine salt in the Songor Lagoon without their consent and approval.
He claimed the lease would not only take away their source of livelihood but deprive them of their lands, adding that anytime they were ready to fight the lease to the latter, government failed to heed to their request.
Against this background, he called on government to review the agreement which granted monopoly to Electrochem Ghana to win salt in the Lagoon.
“A review of the terms of the Electrochem project and the implementation of a development approach in the vision of the Master Plan which legally accommodates the economic interests, including the right to salt production of local people,” he said.
Speaking further Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo called on President Akufo-Addo to intervene by the way to immediately halt to the decision of the company to use of security personnel to intimidate, arrest, kill and brutalize the people in and around the Songor lagoon.
The Libi Wornor, stated that Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional Area, Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III has no land in Ada and that he served under him as gongon better as far as the Ga-Dangbe traditions, norms and customs are concerned, adding that Chief Priests in Ga Dangbe traditions are custodian owners of the lands in Ada.
He stressed that there are documents on the land, "so why would Nene Akuaku III, who doubles as the President of the Traditional Council would go and sign first as the owner, it is a fraud.
"We, the custodian owners of the Ada Songor Lagoon land are telling President Akufo-Addo and the Minerals Commission that Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III and some other persons who signed for the project are fake people, because the Ada Songor Lagoon land does not belong to them.”
Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo stated that, "All the documents from the Presidency to the Chief is totally wrong, stressing that their opposition against the contract has been changed.
He added that the case is currently being pursued at an Tema High Court and that they are praying the court to place on perpetual injunction on the project, saying that they hopeful that very soon the court would grant their request.
Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo pointed out that while the case in court, the company has taken advantage and used a team of the soldiers, police and land-guards to be killing and shootings their people, which development, he said has paved ways for the company to commerce the project.
According to him, all things that the company has gone from the camp of the Paramount Chief of Ada are wrong and fake.
"How can you build on wrong foundation or land which does not belong to you, the company has not passed through the proper or right channel to acquire the lease to work on the land which belongs to the Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada.
"The land in question is a vested land from the elders of Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada.to the government, and that before the government should released that portions of the land to any investor, the first things the government has to do by law is to consult the original owners of the land (Terkpebiawe Clan) for which the government has not done before releasing the land to the company to mine the salt.
"We have envidence that the company has allegedly paid monies to some illegitimate people of Ada led by Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional Area, Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III who are not the rightful members of the custodian owners of the land in question.
"These people in Ada don't even have single land in Ada, they surely known for themselves but they went ahead to deceive the company to be paid for the land of the project which we are pursuing the case in an Tema High Court," he added.
Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo pointed out that per the tradition if somebody or an investor would come to work on Ada Songor Lagoon land, the rightful indigenous person for the person to be seen first is Libi Wornor who is the sub-chief Priest of Ada.
"So l have to do everything with that person and that if the deal is genuine and legal and l have agreed before l would let or inform the Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional to beat gongon to officially inform public about what has been brought to me [Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo]. But the company has been dealing with the wrong people who gave it fraud lease to mine salt on Ada Songor Lagoon land.
For Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo, he stressed that "there no ways we are going to allow the company to work until it rescind on its decision to cancel it lease agreement with the Paramount Chief of Ada and his followers and come back to sit down with us who are the custodian owners of Ada Songor Lagoon land.
He reiterated that they are not against the project but the owners of the company should do the right things to legally acquire the land to carry out that the project
Nii Amatey Apedo Ayornoo vowed to continue protesting until the controversial monopoly granted McDan is reversed.
