Sammi Awuku, Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, has publicly questioned the exclusion of Ghana’s Transport and Interior Ministers from a meeting President John Dramani Mahama is set to hold at Jubilee House on Thursday, September 17, 2026, to review border‑control systems amid a fresh wave of drug seizures.
The meeting will bring together key security, aviation and port‑sector institutions after French customs authorities seized almost 3.9 tonnes of cocaine from a container shipped from Ghana. Awuku took to Facebook on Monday, September 14, to ask why the heads of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited – all under the Ministry of Transport – were invited without the minister himself, Joseph Bukari Nikpe.
"If not, why would the heads of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited, all under the Ministry of Transport, be summoned to such a high‑level meeting without the Minister for Transport?" he wrote. He also highlighted the absence of the Minister for the Interior, pointing out that the Ghana Police Service and Narcotics Control Commission fall under that ministry.
"Similarly, why would the Ghana Police Service and Narcotics Control Commission, both under the Ministry of the Interior, be at the meeting without the Minister responsible for the sector?" Awuku added.
He warned that treating the issue as merely an optics exercise would be a mistake, arguing that the growing concern over Ghana’s use as a transit point for illicit drugs demands a coordinated response. "The growing concern about Ghana being used as a transit point for illicit drugs is too serious for us to treat it as an optics exercise," he said.
Awuku questioned who would be responsible for implementing decisions reached at the meeting if the ministers with direct responsibility for the institutions were not present. "After this meeting, who exactly is expected to supervise and drive the implementation of the decisions reached?" he asked. He cautioned against creating an additional layer of coordination when the ministers who have direct responsibility for these institutions could provide direct political and administrative oversight.
President Mahama has yet to respond to the MP’s Facebook post. The meeting’s agenda will focus on strengthening Ghana’s border‑control measures and addressing the country’s alleged role as a transit hub for narcotics trafficking.
