Richmond Rockson, the spokesperson and Head of Communications at the Ministry of Energy, has firmly rejected recent claims made by Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah, describing them as misleading and regrettable.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday, July 7, Rockson dismissed allegations that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was attempting to take credit for oil discoveries made during the current Akufo-Addo administration.
“It’s rather unfortunate that the MP and former Deputy Energy Minister Hon. Collins seeks to mislead the public,” Rockson stated.
“In the first place, the statement that the Ministry put out was just to inform the people of Ghana about the declaration of commerciality.”
He emphasized that the Ministry’s release was purely informational and not politically motivated.
“Even though this project is a project that commenced years ago under His Excellency President John Mahama, nobody even indicated that. It was basically to inform the people of Ghana on what has happened,” he added.
Rockson’s comments come in response to a press conference earlier in the day by Collins Adomako-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee.
At the presser, Adomako-Mensah accused the NDC of attempting to claim credit for the Akoma and Eban-1X oil discoveries made in 2019 and 2021 by ENI Ghana under the Cape Three Points Block 4.
He claimed the discoveries were reported in accordance with Ghana’s petroleum laws to the Ministry of Energy, the Petroleum Commission, and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) during the tenure of the current administration.
The Ministry’s response, however, insists that its announcement was not politically charged, and urged stakeholders to focus on the national interest rather than politicize Ghana’s energy developments.
