E&P Lawyer Rejects Claims of Political Influence in Azumah, Upwest Takeover
Lawyer for Engineers & Planners (E&P), Bobby Banson, has dismissed suggestions that the company’s acquisition of Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd and Upwest Resources Ghana Ltd was driven by political influence.
Speaking on JoyNews’s Newsfile programme on Saturday, September 13, Lawyer Banson averred that such claims diminish the rigorous commercial and regulatory process that underpinned the deal.
“It is unfair to say this deal is happening because of political connections,” he said. “It undermines the efforts of all the parties who have worked diligently since 2022 to bring this transaction to fruition.”
The takeover, which transfers full equity of the Ghanaian beneficial owner to E&P, represents a significant milestone in Ghana’s mining sector.
Lawyer Banson, speaking further during the interview, urged stakeholders to focus on the economic impact of the transaction rather than “unfounded claims of political advantage.”
“What we must appreciate is that this is a Ghanaian company stepping in to do what foreign investors could not achieve for nearly two decades,” he noted, adding that E&P was now positioned to fast-track development of the concessions.
With gold prices trading above $3,000 per ounce, Lawyer Banson argued that the acquisition comes at a critical time, enabling E&P to leverage both funding and technical capacity to advance production.
“This is a significant opportunity for the country to finally benefit from concessions that have long been dormant,” he remarked.