Drivers and traders at the CMB lorry station in the Central Business District of Accra have vowed not to vacate the land they have occupied for decades, despite what they describe as attempts by private developers to seize it.

Acting National President of the Commercial Drivers Association (CDA), Asonaba Nana Wiredu, speaking after a protest on Tuesday, September 16, said the unions would resist any takeover at all costs.

“We won’t allow him to take the remaining land unless he kills us,” Nana Wiredu declared in an interview.

“From 1985 up to date, we have documentation from the Ghana Railways authorities confirming that transport operators, GPRTU, and petty traders are the rightful settlers on that land.”

The protest was led by transport and trader unions, including the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the Concerned Drivers Association, the Commercial Transport Operators, and the Container Owners Association. Demonstrators marched from Ridge Roundabout to the Jubilee House, where they submitted a petition to President John Dramani Mahama.

The petition, received by Bridget Otto, a presidential staffer responsible for Government Communication, urged government intervention to stop what the unions described as unlawful encroachment.

Miss Otto assured the demonstrators that the petition would be given the seriousness it deserves.

According to the unions, parts of the lorry station have already been taken over, displacing drivers and traders who rely on the space for their livelihoods.

They insist the government must act swiftly to protect the remaining land and safeguard their businesses.