Engineers & Planners (E&P) has rejected claims that its agreement with Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd has been terminated, insisting the contract remains legally binding and fully enforceable.
In a press statement released Tuesday, the company explained that it acquired the gold project in Ghana’s Upper West Region through a formal agreement with Azumah’s shareholders in October 2023, valued at $100 million. Under the terms, the full payment was to be completed by June 2026, with the first instalment initially due in June 2024 and later deferred to December 2024 by mutual agreement via email.
“If indeed Azumah had terminated the agreement in December 2024, why was Azumah still taking money from E&P in June 2025 to pay salaries and other project expenses?” the statement said.
E&P stated that it has honoured its obligations under the agreement, including taking control of the project in November 2023, covering all operational costs through June 2025, and appointing two board representatives to Azumah Ghana in January 2024.
The company further noted that it has secured financing from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to pay the full amount to Azumah’s shareholders, adding that all processes are ongoing in accordance with the contract.
Court Upholds Contract
E&P clarified that it resorted to legal action after a director of Azumah, James Wallbank, who was not a signatory to the original agreement, began pushing for the price to be increased to $300 million due to a rise in global gold prices.
The company says it rejected this demand and filed for arbitration, while also securing a High Court ruling in June 2024 which ordered that the status quo be maintained and the contract upheld until the final determination of the arbitration.
“The alleged termination by Azumah was held by the court to be of no effect,” the statement said.
E&P also questioned the credibility of recent letters circulating online that suggest Azumah has distanced itself from the deal, noting that such letters were signed by a London-based PR agency and not by any director of Azumah. It claimed any such move by directors would amount to contempt of court.
Response to Public Criticism
Without naming them directly, E&P accused Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, and others of trying to sabotage the deal. According to the company, the campaign is aimed at frustrating the financing process in order to derail the acquisition.
“All the noise orchestrated by Bright Simons and James Wallbank and their stooges is to ensure that E&P does not get the money to pay the shareholders of Azumah,” the company stated.
A Ghanaian-Owned Milestone
E&P described the acquisition as a historic opportunity for a wholly Ghanaian-owned company to control a large-scale mining project, and called on the public to support what it called a “pure commercial transaction conducted at arm’s length.”
“This is not politics. This is a pure commercial transaction… Ghanaians should support their own and not allow people who have become mercenaries to divert attention from this historic project,” the statement concluded.
