A Deputy Communications Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has described as redundant, questions being raised by the Minority in Parliament over the controversial Nayele Ametefeh cocaine saga.
The Minority at a press conference on Wednesday among other things, called for the establishment of a bi-partisan Parliamentary Committee to investigate circumstances leading to the cocaine bust in the UK.
This follows the arrest of a Ghanaian woman was busted at the Heathrow Airport early this month for possessing 12kg of cocaine.
She subsequently told officials of Ghana’s Mission in the UK that she though the substance given to her by an unknown person was gold.
[contextly_sidebar id=”uJ2bqsrrGvYemUISTRQWbzUaUZ44vR8J”]Preliminary investigations by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) revealed that the woman; Ruby Adu Gyamfi alias Nayele Ametefeh used the VVIP lounge of the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to embark on the journey.
So far, about 12 persons have been arrested in connection with the issue.
Briefing the press on Wednesday however, the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu stated that “the unfolding event in the VVIP cocaine saga and the responses from the key government operatives including the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs call for intervention of Parliament.”
Responding to the Minority’s call on the Eyewitness News, the Deputy Communications Minister argued that answers to the questions the Minority raised were already in the public domain adding that, “many of the questions that they raised today were redundant because answers exist for them.”
“Why do you hold a press conference and ask questions whose answers you know already except that you want to infuse wrongdoings where none exists. In my view, the questions they raised are not begging for answers. Answers exist and has been in the public for some time now,” he emphasized.
Kwakye Ofosu intimated that “it is astonishing that the Minority will claim that they are unaware of the capacity in which the officers of the Ghana High Commission spoke to the person in question. Yesterday [Tuesday] the Minister of Foreign Affairs explained the circumstances under which that happened.”
He however said that government is currently investigating the usage of the VVIP lounge at the Kotoka International Airport while assuring that “if any lapses are detected in terms of the caliber of people who use the VVIP lounge, steps will be taken to address the situation.”
In a related development, a former Chief of Staff under the Kufour Administration, Kojo Mpiani has advised that the issue should not be politicized.
“The drug menace is to be taken on a national basis, it’s a problem for the nation but if you want to push it on a government because it happened at the time somebody is in office then you lose sight of the whole problem and it’s a very serious problem,” he warned.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana