The Office of the Presidency has dismissed a petition challenging the acquisition of 20,000 acres of land by the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC), insisting that the scheduled sod-cutting ceremony will proceed as planned. This stems from a petition submitted to the Presidency on August 15 by the Coalition of Concerned Nzema People, demanding that the PHDC sign a comprehensive and binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nzema Maanle, chiefs, family heads, and individual landowners. The petitioners also called for the cancellation of the registration of the 20,000-acre land allegedly in the name of Awulae Annor Adjaye III and an immediate halt to the proposed sod-cutting ceremony slated for August 19, 2024, until all issues are resolved. However, in a statement dated August 16 and signed by the Secretary to the President, Ambassador Nana Asante Bediatuo, the Presidency discounted the group's claims, stating that all processes for compulsory acquisition under the law have been complied with thus far, including extensive stakeholder consultations. The Presidency also described the claim of land registration in the name of Awulae Annor Adjaye III as "palpably false". "In addition to that, this Office has had the opportunity to review all the documentation in respect of the Petroleum Hub project including the interlocutory injunction ruling given by the High Court, Sekondi on 22nd November 2021, confirming that the Petroleum Hub project should proceed. "It is also noted that the 20,000 acres of land for the Petroleum Hub project is the subject of compulsory acquisition by the State by the Constitution and the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036).