For close to 50 years after the collapse of the projects, the lands which cover almost 2000 acres had become a bone of contention between successive governments and the traditional authorities.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Kweku Asumah Cheremeh, announced the return of the lands at a durbar of the chiefs and people of Danfa, near Accra, held yesterday to welcome the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who was on a campaign tour of the Madina Constituency.

“Following series of meetings, President Akufo-Addo has heeded your request and has agreed to cede 40 per cent of the dairy farmlands to you," Mr Asomah Cheremeh announced.

His proclamation was greeted with spontaneous cheers and applause.

He encouraged the chiefs to contact the Lands Commission to begin the land documentation processes.

Appreciation

The Chief of Danfa, Nii Djanie Tsuru Afutu Brempong IV, expressed strong approval and admiration for President Akufo-Addo, adding: "The advertising slogan of ‘four more for Nana’ is not only in words but manifested also in action."

He thanked the government for releasing the land to them and said when all the necessary documents on it were finalised, it was their wish that the lands be used for the construction of a senior high school for the area.

He also appealed to the government to facilitate the reconstruction of the town roads in Danfa and its environs.

Madina traders

Before his stop at Danfa, the Vice-President had also visited the Madina Market where the traders besieged his convoy of vehicles in their attempt to catch a glimpse of him.

Dr Bawumia was accompanied on the tour by the Member of Parliament for Madina, Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, and the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mrs Jennifer Dede Adjabeng.

The streets were clogged and the atmosphere was so charged amid chants, shouts and music such that the Vice-President’s security detail had to put in extra effort to make way for the convoy to move along.

Dr Bawumia and his entourage first called on the La Nkwantanang Mantse, Nii Kotei Djor I, at his palace to inform him of their presence in the area and to seek his blessings.

Nii Djor warmly welcomed the Vice-President and his entourage and thanked them for according him respect and subsequently wished them well.

The Vice-President ran the chief and his elders through some of the programmes the government had undertaken in the area and urged them to support President Akufo-Addo in his quest to retain power to further develop the country.

Dr Bawumia and his team were also at the Nii Dagadu palace at the Madina Zongo where a meeting was held with the Zongo chiefs and mallams. He also met the chiefs of the various ethnic groups and joined Sarki Amadu Baba Seidu for prayers at the Madina Central mosque.

The Zongo chiefs thanked the Vice-President for supporting the construction of the central mosque with an amount of GH¢20000 and 500 bags of cement and appealed for further support.

The Vice-President said the government had done a lot for the Zongo communities and would need four more years to turn the fortunes of the communities around, including bringing education to their doorstep.

"The government of President Akufo-Addo has sent 40 students selected from the Zongos to Cuba to pursue medicine and they will come back to help the Zongos and the country at large. Another 40 will also be selected to go and study medicine so we will have more doctors in our communities," he added.

Advice

For her part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, advised traders at Madina not to fall for the lies from the opponents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but to rally solidly behind President Akufo-Addo to enable him to win this year’s election.

Adentan constituency

The Vice-President’s tour also took him to Ashalley Botwe in the Adentan Constituency, where the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoah, cautioned the electorate against voting for different candidates in the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Trobu Constituency was the final stop in Dr Bawumia’s tour. There, he addressed a number of Moslem groups and also inspected a bulk power supply plant at ACP, near Pokuase.