Concerns Mount as Fully Furnished Akumadan University Campus Remains Unused

Akumadan, Offinso North – April 16, 2026 A newly built campus of the University of Local Government and Development at Akumadan in the Offinso North Constituency is yet to be commissioned and operationalized, sparking concerns from some residents and political actors that the facility risks becoming a “white elephant”.

The project, described as a state-of-the-art educational institution specializing in training future leaders in local governance and administration, was constructed under the former NPP administration led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

President Akufo-Addo granted executive approval in a letter dated July 1, 2024, to establish the University of Local Government and Development at Akumadan as a specialised public degree-awarding institution.

The Akumadan campus was formerly part of the Institute of Local Government Studies. Facilities reported for the project include four hostels with 100-bed capacity each, a 1,200-capacity auditorium, 600-capacity lecture halls, an astroturf, a 600-seater auditorium, and administrative blocks.

The project is funded by the Government of Ghana through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

Former Offinso North MP and Deputy Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government, Hon. Collins Augustine Ntim, has been publicly associated with the project.

He previously clarified that funds for the construction were sourced solely from the DACF and emphasized that the university stood as “a testament to the assembly’s dedication to the betterment of education in the region and in Ghana at large”.

The bill to legally establish the University of Local Governance and Development was first presented in Parliament on July 26, 2024, but failed to pass before the Eighth Parliament dissolved in January 2025.

In early 2025, Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy & Religious Affairs Ibrahim Ahmed indicated government was considering reintroducing the Bill for Executive Approval and subsequent Parliamentary Approval.

Some community members now allege the completed and furnished edifice has been left idle since the NDC government assumed office, and are calling for urgent steps to commission the facility to prevent deterioration.

The Ministry of Local Government and the DACF Secretariat have not yet responded to requests for comment on the current status and timeline for operationalization.

Story by Dominic Duut /Images by Ahenkan