President Mahama’s decision to dissolve the Narcotics Control Board(NACOB) will weaken Ghana’s fight against illicit drugs,a private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong has warned.
[contextly_sidebar id=”75Oz237osRxcvDv25evFiqYs7LPH1g7u”]NACOB earlier issued a press statement, indicating that Nayele Ametefe, the woman at the centre of the cocaine saga “was arrested on the November 10, 2014 through the collaborative effort of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and its British partners.”
But UK authorities on Friday rejected the claims and said they did not work with NACOB to arrest the woman and that they did not have any idea Ms Ametefeh was travelling to the UK with about 12kg of cocaine in her hand luggage.
President Mahama subsequently dissolved the governing Board of NACOB a day after the Communications Minister Dr. Omane Boamah said on Citi FM that NACOB did not play any role in the arrest of a cocaine courier, Nayele Ametefe.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Yaw Oppong said the dissolution will create a vacuum, considering the roles it [the Board] plays in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Now that there doesn’t appear to be anybody performing such a function, then who is going to disseminate information to educate the public on the evils of the use of Narcotics? Who is going to liaise with foreign and international agencies on matters relating to narcotic drug etc? Who is going to examine practices and procedures relating to importation and dealings in Narcotic drugs…” the legal practitioner queried.
According to him, the vacuum created “might even escalate into a serious problem” if government fails to take measures to address the problem.
The lawyer therefore advised government to set up a new board to replace the old one in order to strengthen the country’s fight against illicit drugs.
“People who are experts in this area should offer themselves to serve on the new board,” he further recommended.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana