"Akufo-Addo Appointees Must Be Whipped": Bolgatanga Central MP Isaac Adongo Speaks on COCOBOD Issues
- Isaac Adongo, MP for Bolgatanga Central, has called for severe punishment for former COCOBOD officials over alleged mismanagement of the cocoa sector
- He claimed the former management cleared only a fraction of 286,000 bales of jute sacks at the ports and paid GH¢48 million for additional sacks
- Adongo urged accountability, stating that the officials’ actions deprived cocoa farmers and the government of critical resources
The Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central and Chairman of the Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, has called for severe punishment for appointees of the erstwhile administration, led by former President Nana Akufo-Addo, for mismanaging Ghana's cocoa sector.
Addressing the media on Thursday, 19 February 2026, regarding recent developments in the country’s cocoa industry, Isaac Adongo claimed that appointees of the former government failed to manage critical logistics at the Ghana Cocoa Board, otherwise known as COCOBOD.
Source: UGC
According to him, COCOBOD had 286,000 bales of jute sacks at the ports, but the former management of the state institution cleared only 91,000, leaving the remainder uncleared.
“When COCOBOD had 286,000 bales of jute sacks at the ports, they cleared only 91,000 and left the rest. Just a few days before leaving office, they contracted someone and paid GH¢48 million to bring in 80,000 bales of jute sacks,” he said.
He further claimed that the outgoing management of COCOBOD, led by Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the immediate past CEO, contracted a supplier and paid GH¢48 million to procure an additional 80,000 bales of jute sacks, just days before exiting office.
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Adongo calls for accountability amid cocoa crisis
Describing the action as reckless, the Chairman of the Finance Committee said the former management deprived Ghana of the resources needed to adequately support cocoa farmers.
This conduct, among other actions by the former COCOBOD management, contributed to the current difficulties facing the cocoa sector.
Isaac Adongo consequently demanded that Joseph Boahen Aidoo and his former management team be held accountable.
“If it were possible in the days when we were whipping people, these are the individuals we would line up and tell cocoa farmers that it is the conduct of these people that denied the Government of Ghana the resources to properly take care of you at this point in time,” he further stated.
“So that we could give everyone a cane, and cocoa farmers would whip them. Then we would know who is at fault. But these are the kind of people who can sing and dance better than anyone else. They think that if you tell a lie many times, it becomes the truth,” he added.
Source: UGC
Mahama sympathises with cocoa farmers
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that President John Mahama had empathised with cocoa farmers, sharing his own struggles with price cuts affecting his farm.
The president's recent comments came at the inaugural Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit and Exhibition.
Cocoa prices were reduced from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag due to instability on the international market.
Source: YEN.com.gh
