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The original owner of the supposed 20-bedroom mansion worth GHC2.5 million (25 billion old cedis), Dr. Sugri Tia, has told Citi News the Statesman Newspaper publication is �false�. The mansion, alleged to have been sited on a waterway at the Golf City Estates in Tema, became a subject of public discussion when it was initially reported that it was the property of Mr. John Tia, Minister of Information. According to the New Statesman Newspaper which broke the story in its Wednesday May 25, edition, the plush property on a waterway, was a bother to residents of the Gulf City Estates, who feared their homes could be drowned in floods. It further reported that the neighbors have blamed the unusual flooding of the area in recent times on the fact that Mr. Tia's building has swept away part of a bridge, blocking the free flow of floodwater. But the Editor of the Newspaper, Mr. Kwabena Amankwah, in a latest twist, told Citi News there was a mistaken identity with the publication, adding that the building is not owned by the Information Minister. The confession comes after the Minister�s outright denial of the story and a threat to probably sue them for defamation. It eventually emerged that the building is owned by Mr. Sugri Tia, a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture. But in an interview with Citi News, the Deputy Agric Minister said the building project which started in 2005, cost less than GHC2.5 million (25 billion old cedis), although he did not mention the cost involved. He said it was untrue that he had defied complaints from his neighbours and the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) to build on a waterway, thereby exposing residents to flooding when it rains. According to the Nalerigu/Gambaga MP, the rooms are fifteen and not twenty as reported. He explained that he acquired the land from the TDC in 1988, for a poultry enterprise which has been running since 1989. He said in 2005, he started developing part of his land into structures to accommodate his staff close to a stream that runs through his farm and that of others. "This is completely false. I am surprised they are saying that I am developing a land that is going to send water into people�s homes. What I am constructing is nothing near GHC2.5 million. Even the whole farm is not close to one million cedis. It�s a complete exaggeration� he said. According to Hon. Tia, he decided to expand the building project because encroachers were taking over portions of his land. �I have acquired the land and people are encroaching on it. So I was not comfortable with that. And in order to protect it, we wrote a letter to the TDC to upgrade the building for my personal use and possibly for rent in the future. So I have a residential permit. The rooms are about 15 and the intention is to develop it into a better property� he said.