Kufuor sold state lands like toffees - Inusah Fuseini

Former Minister of Lands and Forestry under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Ahaji Innusah Fuseini has hit back at Mr John Peter Amewu over claims the former administration doled out state land to its cronies.

He disclosed that the current administration prior to January 7, 2009 when it handed over power to the NDC under John Agyekum Kufuor did worst than the NDC government.

In his view, the lands were distributed to cronies like toffees insisting that it was under his watch some sanity prevailed on how state land should be acquired.

“The NPP during Kufour’s time rather sold lands like toffees and so I’m shocked to hear Amewu accusing us. During my tenure I had so many NPP members coming to me for state lands but I refused and rather directed them to the lands commission. I won’t mention names but I expect Amewu to add those names to his list. I introduced discipline during my tenure and I think the NPP only want to vilify NDC” he revealed.

Current Minister of Lands and Forestry claims the past administration cheaply and illegally gave out state lands to its members.

According to him, the land grabbing begun in 2013 indicating they were dishing them out like ‘kelewele’ underscoring the need for investigations to be conducted on how these lands were leased to their present owners.

“If you look at the period between 2013 to today, the number of government lands that were dashed out of this country, [they were] given out like ‘kelewele’, I mean like no man’s business,” he told Joy News in an interview on Tuesday, 7 November.

“…So we put a committee together to look into that; the committee is yet to present those reports…” Mr Amewu noted.

But the ranking member of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, said the latest development is not peculiar to only the NDC administration indicating that the NPP members are guilty of the same offense and even worse.