The Minority in Parliament has demanded an immediate resignation of the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah who is also acting as the Environment, Science and Technology Minister over what they described as his “inconsistencies” on the lithium mining agreement.
Speaking for the caucus at a press conference on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Ekow Assafuah explained that the minister’s initial defence of the agreement and his later withdrawal of same after the public backlash exposed his lack of direction.
He says Parliament has been embarrassed due to that action, warranting an effortless resignation of the minister.
“The Minority of the 9th Parliament is of the firm view that the honourable course of action is for the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to resign or be relieved off his position in the interest of accountability, good governance and restoration of public trust in the management of Ghana’s mineral resources,” he stated.
The Caucus demanded that the Lands Minister must bear responsibility for emphatically assuring Parliament that the Lithium agreement satisfied all necessary requirement only for it to be withdrawn.
They said the Minister’s action raises grave concern about ministerial responsibility, credibility and standards of governance.
“When the Minister gives Parliament firm and unequivocal assurance that all legal, technical and procedural requirements have been satisfied and the same agreement is later withdrawn on the basis that those requirements were not in fact fully met. Accountability must necessarily follow.
“In every democracy, Ministers bears personal responsibility for the accuracy and reliability and completeness of the information they place before Parliament,” he said.
They say lithium which is considered a strategic mineral with far-reaching implications for Ghana’s industrialisation agenda, energy transition plans, youth employment, and environmental sustainability.
The Minority argued that managing such a resource requires clarity, consistency, and foresight — qualities they say were lacking in the Minister’s handling of the Barari DV deal.
The Minority said the Minister’s “erratic handling of this matter has undermined public confidence, weakened government’s negotiating positions and exposed Parliament to avoidable embarrassment.”
“The integrity of parliamentary oversight depends on it. While consultation and stakeholder engagement are essential, such engagement must occur before an agreement is presented to Parliament, not after it has been withdrawn under public pressure,” Assafuah added.
On December 10, 2025, government announced the withdrawal of the revised lithium mining agreement to allow further consultations with key stakeholders after public uproar over 5% royalty rate.
Speaking on the decision in Parliament on Wednesday, December 10, Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Yusif Sulemana, explained, “Listening to my colleagues from the other side, they have made my work very easy. They have given reasons why there’s a need for us to withdraw this agreement. It is for that reason that the listening minister, the listening government, has decided that we will withdraw this agreement, do further work involving you, so that together we can move forward.”
He clarified that before resubmitting the agreement, the government had been convinced by NGOs and influential figures in the extractives industry to carry out additional technical and stakeholder engagements.
He claimed that the action shows the government’s readiness to manage the nation’s mineral riches with transparency and accountability.
