Ibrahim Adjei, a Resident Country Director of International Investments LLC, has bluntly told President John Dramani Mahama his denial of the state of emergency on galamsey is insincere.
According to Ibrahim Adjei, President Mahama’s position is inconsistent, arguing that statements made by senior members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) while in opposition had created expectations that emergency powers could address Ghana’s galamsey menace.
He questioned Mahama’s denial, particularly in light of previous comments by senior members of his administration.
Ibrahim Adjei further argued that President Mahama cannot distance himself from calls for a state of emergency made by senior figures within the NDC while the party was in opposition.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Monday, September 28, Ibrahim Adjei stated, “Now, John Dramani Mahama, the President, either is lying or is suffering from some kind of amnesia because how is it that your body politic every day is on TV back in opposition, it calls for a state of emergency and you are saying you don’t know anything about it?”
He further questioned the President’s position, saying, “As a leader, when your spokesman on foreign affairs, now your substantive Minister for Foreign Affairs, says this and you say that you want to play neutral by saying that you never said you would implement it. What are you telling Ghanaians?”
Ibrahim Adjei’s comments follow President Mahama’s remarks in New York on Friday, September 25, when he said he had “never ever” stated that he would declare a state of emergency over galamsey.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with members of the Ghanaian community in the Tri-State Area of the United States on Friday, September 25, Mahama said in opposition he had never said he would invoke a state of emergency to deal with the illegal mining menace.
According to the President, a state of emergency must only be considered as a last resort in addressing the galamsey crisis.
Mahama argued that declaring a state of emergency would not be practical at this stage because illegal mining activities are occurring across 10 regions of Ghana.
He argued that his government’s approach to tackling illegal mining takes into account the widespread nature of the problem rather than relying immediately on emergency measures.
President Mahama stated, “They said I said a state of emergency. I never ever said that. I never said I’d declare a state of emergency, but states of emergency are useful; you declare them as a last resort.
If you declare a state of emergency, you normally declare it in an isolated area, and you deal with the issue. You concentrate all your energy there and deal with the issue. And you finish it, and you lift the state of emergency. They are very temporary”.
“Now, what people don’t understand is that galamsey is in 10 regions of Ghana. You declare a state of emergency; where are you going to declare the state of emergency?”
He further argued, “ That 48-hour rule doesn’t apply when there’s a state of emergency. And so the point is, we still have that power, but we must exercise it as a last resort”.
“We have forest reserves that have had incursions into them. And so what we’ve done is we’ve concentrated on the forest reserves.
“Nine of those forest reserves were considered red zones because of the degree of incursion into the forest reserves and the fact that those in those forest reserves were armed, and the forest guards could not go into the reserve for fear of their lives. Today, in those nine forest reserves, the army has cleared all the people out of them,” he added.
Watch the video below:
“Mahama is either lying or suffering from some kind of amnesia” — Ibrahim Adjei
— ChannelOne TV (@Channel1TVGHA) September 28, 2026
Resident Country Director of International Investments LLC, Ibrahim Adjei, is accusing President John Dramani Mahama of backtracking on his earlier position on calls for a state of emergency over… pic.twitter.com/3G0cGYjUy8
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A disagreement reportedly broke out between passengers, a trotro driver and his mate after the mate allegedly demanded fares above the 8% increase announced by transport unions. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
