Serious negotiations are underway to resolve the standoff between E&P and Azumah Resources over the Black Volta gold concessions, E&P’s Lawyer Bobbey Banson confirmed, stressing that the dispute is primarily commercial and not politically driven.
Speaking to reporters, Lawyer Banson sought to calm rising concerns about the investment climate and clarified several contested points about the origins and progress of the transaction.
“The transaction, like I keep saying, was started in 2022. The agreement was fully negotiated and signed in 2023. Things went on up to 2024,” Banson said, arguing that the deal’s timeline long predated the current administration.
He rejected suggestions that E&P had “just walked in and said, we are taking it by force,” calling such accusations “most unfair” because they “undermine the efforts that all parties involved have put in to bring it to this light.” Banson acknowledged the sensitivities of the moment and deliberately framed his comments to avoid inflaming passions as mediation continued.
“As of today, tomorrow, the next day, it’s very crucial. Now, I will not, with respect, want to inflame, for lack of a better word, passions. So that’s a fact. That’s a fact that there are serious negotiations to finalize the discussions”.
Lawyer Bobbey Banson
His restraint reflected the reality that the talks involve stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions — notably Singapore and Australia — which complicates scheduling and coordination.
The lawyer was emphatic in rebutting two recurring allegations circulating in public discourse. First, he denied that monies had been paid into an account unlawfully and were being held for nefarious purposes.
Second, he dismissed claims that the deal was the product of political interference. “It is not true, never the case, that this transaction has come about because of political interference,” Banson asserted.
He disclosed that Azumah Resources first approached E&P in 2022 when Ibrahim Mahama — later linked in public commentary to President Dramani Mahama — was not the sitting president.
“If they were looking for political help, they would not have gone to him,” Banson said, stressing that the parties negotiated in good faith and that the dispute emerged only after implementation began in 2024.
“Parties started implementing their various parts of the agreement in 2024, and a dispute arose. A dispute arose in 2024. Now, whatever steps have been taken by E&P subsequently, they are subject to matters that will be consummated in the course of these negotiations”.
Lawyer Bobbey Banson
Premature Public Characterizations of the Dispute
Lawyer Banson warned against premature public characterizations of the dispute, noting that negotiations demand confidentiality and careful wording.
“I would not want to go into this person did this. As you know, when you are in negotiations, sometimes the tone that is cut, that is why I’m restrained, because whatever Mr. Simon says here cannot be held against the people with whom we are negotiating.”
Lawyer Bobbey Banson
Beyond legal and procedural clarifications, Banson emphasized the broader stakes: investor confidence and Ghana’s reputation. “Investment climate, people are talking about it. It is not only Mr. Ibrahim Mahama or E&P that they are talking about. They are talking about the whole of Ghana,” he said.
He stressed that miners and workers involved in the project are not monolithic political followers and that the conflict should be seen as a national commercial matter rather than a partisan flashpoint.
Banson also highlighted the logistical difficulties of coordinating a multinational resolution, noting time-zone differences that have compounded the pressure on negotiators.
“The stakeholders involved are in different jurisdictions, Singapore, Australia, and the timelines are not aligned. Australia, for example, is eight hours. So we’ve been working in the past 72 hours over time to be able to finish this”.
Lawyer Bobbey Banson
For now, Banson asked for patience and caution from the public and commentators, insisting that negotiations could bring closure soon. “I have to be part, but because of these issues and the promise that we had, I didn’t want it to be repeated. I just wanted to come and clear these two things,” he said, reiterating his denials about unlawful payments and political influence.
For E&P’s legal team, the priority remains a negotiated settlement achieved without further public escalation — a resolution that, if successful, could both restore normalcy to operations at Black Volta and reassure market participants that Ghana can manage complex cross-border resource disputes responsibly.
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