Cocaine Coast: NPP Wants 9 Heads Axed

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has formally demanded the immediate dismissal of nine senior security and port officials, accusing President John Dramani Mahama of “pampering” a drug trade that has turned Ghana into what it calls a “Cocaine Coast.”

At a press conference at the party’s national headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, NPP National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye read out a failed verdict of the government’s response to a string of drug seizures linked to Ghana, saying the President had responded to a national emergency with “tea and meetings” rather than accountability.

“They have relaxed on their duties. They must be sacked,” Nana Boakye said. “We voted for leadership, not weak leadership.”

The Nine Officials Named

The NPP is demanding the removal of the heads of the institutions it says failed to secure Ghana’s borders. The list includes the Chief Executive of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, the Executive Secretary of NACOC, the National Security Coordinator, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Bureau, the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, the Commissioner-General of Customs, and the Inspector-General of Police.

The demand draws a sharp contrast with the government’s approach. While President Mahama has directed agencies to “tighten” their operations and established a task force to recommend reforms, no official has been removed from office.

“We would have thought that a president confronted with such a scale of national disgrace would move immediately to relieve of their duties every official in the chain of command who has failed this country badly,” Nana Boakye said. “Instead, Mr. President invites them to a meeting for tea.”

Parliament Recall

The NPP’s call for dismissals comes as a separate push to recall Parliament from recess gains traction. Forty-eight Members of Parliament have formally petitioned Speaker Alban Bagbin to reconvene the House, citing the drug seizures as a national security emergency requiring urgent parliamentary oversight. The petition, dated September 18, was submitted by Minority members who say the scale of the seizures demands a bipartisan public inquiry with powers to summon witnesses and compel documents.

The NPP has backed that call, demanding a special bipartisan committee sitting in public session. “Ghanaians have been given press conferences, task forces and ultimatums; what they have not been given is a single sworn word on the record,” Nana Boakye said.

The NPP’s demand follows a meeting President Mahama convened on September 17 with security and port-sector agencies to review the drug trafficking situation. According to a Citi Newsroom report, the President was briefed that ten people, including four Customs Division officers, were being held while investigations continued. He directed an inter-agency task force to develop measures to strengthen controls.

But Nana Boakye said that response fell far short of what Ghanaians should expect. “His Excellency the President spoke tough. He was going to crack the whip. Today, he cannot crack the whip,” he said. “He is rather pampering the activities of illicit drugs.”

A Pattern of Seizures

The NPP’s press conference comes amid escalating public concern over a series of major narcotics interceptions linked to Ghana, both domestically and abroad. According to figures presented by the party, the total estimated street value of major seizures linked to Ghana between 2025 and September 2026 exceeds US$1 billion.

The most recent flashpoint is the September 10 seizure by French customs at the Port of Dunkirk, where nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine valued at approximately €225 million (US$261 million) were found concealed in plastic waste inside a container that had departed from Ghana. Four Ghanaians have since been arraigned in Accra and remanded in custody in connection with the shipment.

The Dunkirk case has drawn particular attention because one of the accused, Musah Atta, was alleged by a New Tafo MP to have been part of the presidential and vice-presidential security detail. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has since issued a clarification stating that preliminary background checks found no such link. “We don’t have any of them who is a Presidential escort,” NACOC Deputy Director-General Alexander Twum-Barimah said.