The Jomoro Municipal Assembly has demolished a storey building at Elubo in the Western Region for allegedly being sited too close to the highway and without the requisite permit.
The demolition exercise was carried out on *Saturday, August 1, 2026*, by officials of the Assembly with support from the Ghana Police Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
According to the Assembly, the building was owned by Mr. Isaac Kwame Agyapong Aninkrorah and construction began in 2024 and continued into 2025, a period when the municipality had no substantive Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).
Speaking to the media on Friday, August 7, 2026, the Jomoro MCE, Hon. Benedict Boadi, said he was confirmed by the Assembly Members on *Thursday, May 8, 2025*, and it was later that he heard about the construction of the building along the road at Elubo.
Hon. Boadi, who was appointed by President John Dramani Mahama, said the structure posed a safety risk due to its proximity to the highway near the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border.
“The building is very close to the highway near the border. It poses a serious danger and could cause havoc in future,” he said.
Hon. Boadi stated that the Assembly had earlier served a stop-work notice to the owner, but the directive was ignored.
“When he informed me about his project at that time I had not seen it. Later I received unconfirmed reports that someone was building along the highway at Elubo. I went there, saw the project and directed my staff to write to him to stop the work. But this man did not mind us. He used the nights to continue. We had a security meeting and it was agreed that the building should be pulled down, and we did it,” he said.
“If my predecessors did not do it, as for me I will not allow anybody to build along the roads. I know people will say I did not try but I was working according to the laws of this country,” he added.
The MCE warned that any structure put up along roads without permits would be dealt with accordingly.
Some residents of Elubo who spoke to GhanaWeb also blamed the former MCE, Hon. Louisa Arde, for allegedly failing to act while the encroachment took place.
BUILDING OWNER REACTS
Also speaking to GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent, Daniel Kaku on Friday, August 7, 2026, Mr. Aninkrorah said he was seeking justice and claimed to have spent over GH¢4 million on the project.
He said he built his first house with offices in 2006 and that when the Ministry of Roads and Highways upgraded the Elubo-Agona Nkwanta road in 2015, the building was not affected and no compensation was paid.
Mr. Aninkrorah stated that in 2024 he informed the late Chief of Elubo of his intention to use the forecourt of his building to add rooms and was granted permission.
He added that he also applied to the Lands Commission in Sekondi to register the plot, and that the Commission requested a comment from the Jomoro Assembly, which he said he did not receive. He said construction was already ongoing.
He further alleged that in late 2025 he met Hon. Boadi to follow up on the request, and that the MCE gave him support to proceed.
However, Hon. Boadi dismissed the claim, saying he did not grant any permission for the construction.
The Jomoro Municipal Assembly has urged developers and residents to seek approval from the Physical Planning Department before undertaking any project to avoid similar losses.
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