United States-based Ghanaian medical doctor Arthur Kobina Kennedy has stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is not the person that Ghanaians knew from his days in opposition.

According to Dr. Kennedy, who is also a senior member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), President Akufo-Addo, in his quest for power, lost himself by trading his soul.

“I believe that President Akufo-Addo has lost his soul. He is not the Nana Addo that we all knew, and he lost his soul a long time ago, but we didn’t know it. He sold his soul for the presidency,” he stated in an interview with GhOne TV on Monday, October 7, 2024.

Dr. Kennedy, who was contributing to a discussion on the menace of illegal mining, also known as galamsey, warned that it threatens the very existence of Ghana as a nation due to the many costs the country has to pay.

“Galamsey is an existential threat not just because of what it is doing to us directly, but because of the opportunity cost. The idea that we are destroying cocoa farms means we will lose revenue there. We will spend more purifying water, which means we spend more there. We will lose timber, we will lose our pristine forest, and more to the point, we will break the bond and obligation we owe to posterity because we are living in our country as a borrowed resource that we should pass on to our children,” he stated.

Amidst the current discussion on illegal mining, President Akufo-Addo has come under heavy criticism for failing to take decisive action against the canker.

In recent weeks, there has been increasing pressure on the government to take stronger action against illegal mining. Organized Labour has been at the forefront of these demands, calling on President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency on galamsey and threatening to embark on a nationwide strike on October 10, 2024, if the government does not take more decisive action.

Meanwhile, the government, in a statement dated October 7, 2024, announced its intention to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462) when Parliament reconvenes. This move aims to bolster the legal framework regulating mining activities in protected areas.

Furthermore, the government reiterated its commitment to declaring water bodies and forest reserves as “Red Zones” for mining, with stricter enforcement measures planned to eliminate illegal operations in these regions.

Pres. Akufo-Addo has lost his soul, he's not the Nana Addo we all knew. He sold his soul for the presidency... - Dr. Arthur Kennedy (Founding Member, NPP) #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #NPP #GHOneTV #ElectionHub #NDC pic.twitter.com/CmRaIS9Ccg

— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) October 7, 2024