Randy Abbey (L) is the COCOBOD CEO and Fiifi Boafo (R) is a former COCOBOD public affairs
A former Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Fiifi Boafo, has alleged that an internal “turf war” at Cocoa House is severely undermining the country’s cocoa sector.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on February 10, 2026, Boafo claimed that a power struggle between CEO Dr Randy Abbey and another senior official has caused serious problems, making it difficult for the board to operate effectively.
President Mahama convenes emergency Cabinet meeting over cocoa sector crisis
“One unfortunate thing that has happened at Cocoa Board, as I’ve been reliably informed and I know they cannot deny, is an unnecessary turf war happening at Cocoa House. It is needless, it is not supposed to happen, and I am shocked that it has happened. The President indeed appointed Dr Randy Abbey Chief Executive of Cocoa Board, and as a responsibility of the Chief Executive, together with his board, they appoint and move around directors. Indeed, he moved a lot of them,” he alleged.
Boafo continued saying, “… The Managing Director of Cocoa Marketing Company was moved to an innocuous office… but he promoted a Deputy Managing Director to become the Managing Director of Cocoa Marketing Company, and I have no doubt about the competence of the gentleman Dr Abbey promoted to become the Managing Director. He is someone who has spent his entire life trading cocoa. He understands the industry very well.”
The turf war, according to Boafo, escalated after another official arrived with a presidential green letter appointing him to the same position. This, he added, led to a direct challenge to Dr Abbey’s authority and initiated a standoff.
“One unfortunate morning, I should rather say, there was a motorcade followed by land cruisers, driven to the compound of Cocoa Board, and a gentleman popped up and said, ‘I have not a white letterhead, but I have a green letterhead from the President of the Republic appointing him as the Managing Director of Cocoa Marketing Company.
“So, the one Randy Abbey promoted to the position of Managing Director must leave, and this gentleman took over as the Managing Director of Cocoa Board, and he’s supposed to be our Chief Marketer. This Chief Marketer did not go just to market, but he went there to say, ‘I’m the new sheriff in town. Who is Randy Abbey? He has a green letter just like myself’, then the turf war started,” he claimed.
He added that the officials are unwilling to collaborate, creating ongoing disruptions at Cocoa House.
“Randy says A, and he says B. He is not ready to listen, not ready to engage, and not ready to collaborate, and the turf war has existed from the time this gentleman was appointed to date,” he added.
Boafo warned that the conflict has direct consequences for cocoa sales and farmer payments, as the Cocoa Marketing Company is responsible for implementing decisions of the Sales Executive Committee, chaired by Dr Abbey.
“Why is this turf war relevant in the conversation? It is relevant because the Cocoa Marketing Company, which the guy who is fighting Randy heads, is supposed to sell the cocoa, but they only sell the cocoa based on mandates given by a committee that was chaired by Randy Abbey. The committee is called the Sales Executive Committee. It is chaired by the Chief Executive of COCOBOD and the Cocoa Marketing Company, which this gentleman heads, is responsible for providing the technical support for the decision-making, and it’s one, if not the most important, committee at Cocoa House, because if that committee gets it wrong, the entire cocoa industry is messed up,” Boafo stated.
He further linked the turf war to operational inefficiencies and financial challenges affecting the sector.
The former COCOBOD official stressed that because officials are not working together, cocoa prices and payments to farmers are being affected.
‘I can’t sleep’ – Cocoa purchasing clerk cries out over unpaid arrears
“And that is what has happened. That committee, I am told, reliably, that even sometimes meetings are called, and the Managing Director of the Cocoa Marketing Company says, ‘I’m not in a good mood. He’s sick. He doesn’t show up, and even when he shows up, it’s a different story altogether because he doesn’t see eye to eye with Randy. Instead of sitting down and bringing out the best ideas in a collaborative manner for the industry, they sat down and engaged in a needless turf war,” he further indicated.
Boafo concluded, “Now the price has dropped to GH₵4,000. Now you’re unable to sell the cocoa. Now they have a mounting debt of about GH₵11 billion owed by old license-buying companies. Now they have about 300,000 metric tons, which is supposed to go to the cocoa farmer.”
MAG/VPO
Watch as Oforikrom MP sets record straight on alleged abandonment of Afenyo Markin by NPP MPs
Source:
www.ghanaweb.com
