Martin Kpebu, a former member of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee, has said the $21.19 billion estimated recovery under ORAL was the Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s personal comment.
Lawyer Kpebu disputed claims by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that the government could recover up to $21.19 billion from stolen state assets.
He argued that said the figure cited by Ablakwa was his personal assessment and did not represent an amount collectively established or agreed upon by members of the ORAL Committee.
Lawyer Kpebu maintained that the committee did not conduct an assessment that established the potential recovery figure of $21.19 billion.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s SMS on Wednesday, November 4, Martin Kpebu stated, “Let us remember that the comment that was made (by Mr Ablakwa) was a personal comment; it was not by the committee, it was one of our members who made the comment, and I didn’t endorse it neither any of our member endorsed it”.
“It is not a collective decision. He (Mr Ablakwa) said ‘if we are successful’, so it is a conditional clause,” he argued.
It will be recalled that the ORAL team, on February 10, 2025, submitted their final report to President John Mahama.
The chairman of Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) and Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed that with just 36 cases, Ghana can potentially recover $ 20.49 billion in stolen state resources.
In related news, Data Scientist and Policy Analyst, Alfred Appiah, has called out Dominic Ayine, the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister for Justice, over the lack of recoveries under the Mahama government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.
Alfred Appiah asserted that Ghanaians were told to expect $21 billion to be recovered through ORAL, but 18 months down the line, the people of Ghana are yet to see any significant recoveries.
In a post shared on X, Aifred Appiah wrote, “We have been told that there is about $21 billion to be recovered through ORAL. That could fund government spending for more than a year. That naturally raises questions about how the Attorney General’s Department is prioritising its cases.
For example, how does the alleged $2 million Sky Train case become a priority over the multibillion-dollar allegations surrounding the Bank of Ghana’s cash printing? Or why does Wontumi’s galamsey-related cases receive early attention while other cases with potentially much larger financial implications appear to be moving more slowly?
It has been about 18 months since ORAL was launched, yet we are still waiting to see significant recoveries that can be directly attributed to it. Recoveries that would have occurred through the normal work of EOCO or other state institutions should not be presented as evidence of ORAL’s success.
The Attorney General’s Department has also not indicated how much it realistically expects ORAL to recover. Without clear targets and timelines, it becomes difficult for the public to assess whether the initiative is delivering on its promise.
The public deserves more transparency on the prioritisation of cases, the value of assets targeted for recovery, the amounts recovered so far through ORAL itself, and the expected recoveries going forward!”.
Also, Mussa Dankwah, the Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, has disclosed that the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) is the John Mahama government’s weakest-performing area.
He disclosed that from the June 2026 Global InfoAnalytics national tracking poll, noted that ORAL ranked as the joint fourth worst-rated area of government performance, with 29 per cent of respondents identifying it as an area where the government had performed poorly.
“In the June 2026 national tracking poll, ORAL was the fourth worst area of performance for the government,” Dankwah said.
@ghnow_ A PassionAir flight carrying Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene, actor Kwadwo Nkansah Lil Win and former Bantama MP Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu reportedly encountered a frightening mid-air incident while travelling from Kumasi to Accra. Lil Win has since shared scenes from the experience. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, interacts with guests at Black Star Fashion Week at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. #GHNow #BlackStarFashionWeek ♬ original sound – BLACK MAN ✪
