The reign of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo may have long been over since January 7, 2025, but the very people who helped him during his 8 years in office may not all been enjoying their ‘retirements’ so well, or so quietly.
And this is for reasons aligned to promises and what appears to be a robust aim by the John Dramani Mahama government, which took over from the past one, to prosecute any forms of corruption that arose during the former administration.
These formed part of campaign promises by John Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC), coming into the 2024 Election, and so far, they have been determined on achieving that.
Caught up in that, have been a number of appointees of Akufo-Addo who have ended up several investigations, or, in simple terms, whose names have been linked to controversial wealth that people believe may be, somehow, corruption related.
In this GhanaWeb article, let us take a look at some of the appointees under Akufo-Addo whose wealth came into question, generating national conversations.
In each of these cases, something happened that brought their cases into the public light, prompting national discussions and great interest.
Eugene Arhin
Eugene Arhin was the Director of Communications at the Presidency under Nana Akufo-Addo for the 8 years he was in office.
In 2021, a divorce case with his wife made it into the public, where his wife was demanding for certain reliefs in the separation process.
As part of the things she listed, she made mention of some of the properties owned by Eugene Arhin and these revelations, in the eyes of the public, generated a lot of conversations.
For many, did the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, amass all that in a space of four years, or during his time in public office?
Gloria Assan Arhin, his wife at the time, prayed the Accra High Court to grant her divorce request and also give her a number of properties, including a five-bedroom residential property (which was intended to be the matrimonial home of the parties) situated on a two-plot of land lying at East Legon in Accra; a four-storey building comprising 16 separate flats/apartments situated on a parcel of land at Bubiashie in Accra which land was acquired from a family friend of the petitioner.
She also asked for a storey building being constructed which comprised of 16 separate flats/apartments situated at Tuba-Weija in Accra.
These were but just three of the over twenty properties she sought after as part of the divorce.
Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie (Sir John)
Sir John, a former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), became the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission of Ghana until his death.
After his death, his will became public, generating another widespread conversation among Ghanaians. It involved a tall list of 75 properties, including houses, parcels of land, bank accounts, investments, businesses, guns and clothes.
His will also raised public concerns following the discovery that he owned lands at the Achimota Forest. This was also because President Akufo-Addo had, at the time, signed an Executive Instrument that said part of the Achimota Forest was no longer a forest reserve.
Critics said the move was a ploy to get the land into the hands of the ruling elite, an accusation the government vehemently denied.
Sir John’s ownership of parcels of lands at the Achimota Forest appeared to have heightened the deep-seated mistrust of the government and its actions.
Below are the properties as listed in the will of the late Sir John:
House on plot number GA54480 located in Ogbojo, East Legon, and acquired on February 12, 2018
House on plot number GA 55329 located at Oyarifa No. 2, acquired on May 11, 2018
House plot number GA 55475 located at Oyarifa No.1, acquired on September 27, 2017
House on plot number GA 5881 located at Adjiringanor, Accra, (white House), acquired on August 7, 2019.
A 6-bedroom house located at Patangbe, Ogbojo, near East Legon.
A 4-bedroom house located in Mempeheusem, East Legon
A 3-bedroom house on plot number TDA 4140 located in Mempehuesem, East Legon
Another 3-bedroom house on plot number TDA 4140 located in Mempehuesem, East Legon
A 4-bedroom house on plot number GA56838 located in East Legon and acquired on October 25, 2018
A 5-bedroom house located in Sakora Wonoo
A 4-storey building located in East Legon, with 10 apartments, each apartment consisting of 3-bedrooms; and five apartments, each consisting of two bedrooms.
LANDS
Two plots of land located in Ahenema Kokoben in the Ashanti Region
Two plots of land with registration number GA56921 located in Oyarifa, which were acquired on November 6, 2018.
A 5.541-acre land located in Achimota Forest held in the name of Jakaypros Limited
A 0.987-acre land located in Achimota Forest held in the name of Fasoh Limited
Unspecified piece of land located in the Achimota Forest jointly owned with Charles Owusu
An unspecified piece of land held in the name of DML located in the Achimota forest
A 5.07-acre land at the Ramsar site, Sakumono
Five plots of land located at Millenium city, Kasoa
One plot of land with certificate number GA60802, located at Mempeheusem, East Legon, acquired on December 13, 2019.
Two plots of land approximately of 0.40acres located at No.7 ARS Lane, Ogbojo, near East legon
One plot of land near the Chain Homes Estate at East Airport Hills.
A piece of land numbered plot 139 located within the Adentaman District (aka Aviation land).
PRIVATE VEHICLES
Lexus LX570 25. Ford Fusion
Lexus V6
Nissan Titan Pick Up V8
Mercedes Benz E68 Sport AMG
Honda Pilot V6
Honda Accord Sport
Toyota Landcruiser V8
Ford 150
Honda Accord 2.0 Touring
Toyota Rav 4, 2019 model
Chevrolet Cruze
Lexus Saloon Car, 2019 model
GUNS
Five pump-action guns
Clothing
BANK ACCOUNTS
National Investment Bank, account no. 1802092960501
CBG, account no. 0302239130003
GT Bank- in the name of Ruth Korkor Odonkor
GT Bank-in the name of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie
Fidelity Bank, account no. 1060032907210
ADB, in the name of Jakaypros Limited
United States Bank, Wells Fargo, in the name of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie
Canadian Bank Account, Royal Bank, in the name of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie INVESTMENTS
ADB: Two million cedis (2,000,000.00), expected to mature in April 2020.
Two hundred and fifty thousand Ghana cedis (GHc 250,000) with NTHC which stood at GHc 303,720.22 as at July 31, 2019.
Joint gold production investment with Francis Owusu Joint ownership in gold production investment with:
ROTL,
FASOH
MBL HOSPITAL
Afriyie Memorial Hospital, located at Sakora Wonoo OTHER BUSINESSES
A fuel Station located at Kentinkrono in the Ashanti region
Fuel tanker vehicles (10 in number)
One teak plantation located at Nkawie in the Ashanti Region
Rubber plantation located in the Eastern Region
Stalls located at the new Kejetia market, Kumasi (3 in number)
Farms at Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
Kwabena Adu-Boahene
The last person in this list of Akufo-Addo appointees whose wealth have courted public conversations is the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, Kwabena Adu-Boahene.
He and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, were recently detained by the Attorney General’s office following his arrest at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Following his detention, Attorney General Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine revealed at a press conference on Monday, March 24, 2025, a list of properties acquired by both suspects since 2018.
This, he said, was established through painstaking investigations by the EOCO and the AG’s office, indicating that the properties acquired were bought using embezzled state funds.
Below is a breakdown of the properties and their estimated values under the couple’s names below:
1. No. 2 stream part drive, Mayfair Estates, LA, Accra which is estimated at $1,000,000 (valued at GH¢15,000,000)
2. No. 6 Edith Avenue, Mayfair Estates, LA, Accra
3. No. 7 Edith Avenue, Mayfair Estates, LA, Accra estimated at a value of $200,000
4. No. 8 Edith Avenue, Mayfair Estates LA, Accra estimated at a value of $97,815
5. No. 9 Edith Avenue, Mayfair Estates LA, Accra also valued at $270,000
6. No. 10 Edith Avenue, Mayfair Estates LA, Accra at $150,000, Additionally, another initial cash deposit of $500,000 was made to purchase 5 houses.
7. Vertex properties at Oyarifa Gated Estate Development. This consists of 27 houses each valued at an estimated cost of $295,000 (GH¢127,000,000).
8. Two properties in London
The AG further disclosed that an amount of up to GH¢39 million was allegedly diverted and embezzled by the suspects from the agency.
“GH¢39,462,480 went into Adu-Boahene and his wife’s pockets from one transaction,” the Attorney General said.
AE