The Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, Mustapha Gbande, told the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations (NAIMOS) Task Force that they have the full backing of President John Mahama.
Mustapha Gbande urged NAIMOS to enforce the law without fear or favour.
He ordered the task force to arrest anyone who mentions President John Mahama’s name to prevent their galamsey fight.
According to him, anybody who tries to destroy the galamsey fight in the name of a political colour must be arrested.
He stated, “The most powerful person in this country, the President, is fully backing you on this mission. The NDC does not and will not endorse what our President is against. In the bush or in a water body, there is no political colour.
So, if anybody goes in the name of a political colour, arrest the person. If anybody comes in the name of the President, also arrest the person,” Mustapha Gbande said.
Also, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has ordered the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations (NAIMOS) Task Force to be firm, resolute and ruthless.
According to the lands minister, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations has the full support of President John Dramani Mahama.
Speaking at the deployment of the NAIMOS Task Force in Sunyani on Sunday, September 28, 2025, Armah-Kofi Buah stated, “The fight against illegal mining is not going to stop, and every measure at the Presidency is going to be used. I charge you with a profound sense of duty and patriotism.
Any recalcitrant who enters these zones is not only a trespasser, but also an enemy of the state. You are to be firm, resolute, and ruthless.
“You will take no obtrusive intrusion from any big man. Remember, the biggest man in Ghana is the President, and he is the one who has sent you,” Mr Buah declared.
“The most powerful person in this country, the President, is fully backing you on this mission. The NDC does not and will not endorse what our President is against. In the bush or in a water body, there is no political colour.
So, if anybody goes in the name of a political colour, arrest the person. If anybody comes in the name of the President, also arrest the person,” he said.
Meanwhile, Captain Smart, the Host of Onua Maakye on Onua TV, has called on President John Mahama to dismiss the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, over his failure to oversee the repeal of LI 2462.
According to Captain Smart, if the Attorney General stay in office, the Mahama-led government cannot fight galamsey.
He highlighted that the Attorney General’s shortcomings stem from his history with the controversial LI 2462, which permits mining in forest reserves, which was approved in the 8th Parliament during his tenure as Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee.
Captain Smart asserted that Dr Dominic Ayine might be excused for his role in the law’s approval because he was in opposition, but nothing prevents him from taking action now as Attorney General.
Speaking on Onua Maakye on Onua TV, Captain Smart stated, “If this Attorney General does not go, I swear to God, they can’t fight it. Whoever believes he is a man should come for a bet. Because from the very moment Dominic Ayine sat on the Subsidiary Legislation Committee and changed the wording to enable that law to come into fruition, President Akufo-Addo and Mr Ayisi, the then-Minerals Commission CEO, issued over two thousand small-scale mining licenses in a space of eight months”.
“You have been in government for nine months; why haven’t you repealed that law? When Parliament approved the E-Levy, Ato Forson went back to the same Parliament for its repeal, and he did the same for the Emission Levy,” he said.