On March 17, 2025, I began my tenure alongside our CEO, Dr. Toni Aubynn, and fellow Deputy CEO, Sadia Halimatu Abdulai Abu, as the new management team of the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC).
One year later, many will understandably ask: What have you and your leadership achieved since taking charge, especially given that we have yet to secure compensation payments for the affected landowners?
This question is fair and legitimate. After all, a full year has passed without resolving the Corporation’s most pressing challenge: compensating landowners within the project’s designated area, now reduced to approximately 12,500 acres (equivalent to roughly 5,000 hectares).
The concern is amplified by the widespread narrative prior to our arrival that landowner compensation was the sole barrier preventing the project from taking off. While that view was not entirely inaccurate, it overlooked the broader array of deep-rooted issues plaguing the PHDC and the Petroleum Hub initiative itself.
Upon assuming office, one of the most glaring problems we identified was the severe lack of awareness, appreciation, and acceptance of the project, even within the Jomoro community, where previous stakeholder engagements had reportedly taken place. These uncomfortable undercurrents of scepticism and misunderstanding needed to be addressed swiftly.
Recognising the enormity of the task ahead, we immediately rolled up our sleeves and launched an intensive campaign to build awareness, create recognition, and secure buy-in from all key stakeholders.
Today, I reflect with pride on the substantial progress we have made in elevating the Petroleum Hub brand and earning endorsement and commitment across the board, from His Excellency the President, Parliament, and senior government officials to investors, regulators, sister agencies, the Paramount Chief, and the people of Jomoro.
Over the past year, perceptions have shifted dramatically: the Petroleum Hub has evolved in public and policy discourse from a peripheral concept to a central pillar of Ghanaโs energy security and economic transformation agenda.
Publicity and stakeholder engagement, however, represent only part of our accomplishments. We have secured strong presidential, parliamentary, and ministerial approval and support. We have signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with investors from around the world. We have cultivated strong partnerships with sister agencies, including the formation of a joint committee with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to explore collaborative opportunities.
These may appear incremental to some observers, but they constitute essential foundational work that will soon snowball into the major milestones everyone eagerly awaits.
At the same time, we have remained fully focused on the core outstanding issue. Behind the scenes, efforts continue to finalize landowner compensation.
Following directives issued by His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama in December 2025, work is actively progressing in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Lands Commission to formalize the land size reduction from the original 20,000 acres to approximately 12,500 acres (about 5,000 hectares). I extend our sincere gratitude to the Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, for his keen interest and unwavering commitment to advancing this project.
Another key aspect of the President’s directive involves securing funding for both landowner compensation and the PHDC’s operations. I am pleased to report that the Corporation is working closely with our parent ministry, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Parliament’s Energy Committee, and our consistently supportive sister agency, the National Petroleum Authority, to implement these measures effectively.
Even as preparations continue, we are already making a tangible impact in Jomoro. The Corporation is currently undertaking critical infrastructure improvements in the area, including electricity, network, and water connectivity projects.
In closing, I wish to express heartfelt thanks to all our stakeholders for their invaluable support and encouragement. I also want to reaffirm to all Ghanaians that the government of President John Dramani Mahama remains fully committed to this transformative initiative. We will develop the Petroleum Hub to its fullest potential and secure the nation’s energy future and deliver sustainable jobs and prosperity for generations to come.
