NPP demands dismissal of security heads over $1.7b cocaine seizures

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the immediate dismissal of several top security officials and the Interior Minister, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, following a series of high-profile drug seizures linked to Ghana. At a press conference on November 4, 2026, NPP Second National Vice Chairman Henry Nana Boakye highlighted at least 14 significant drug busts between March 2025 and October 2026, with a total estimated street value of approximately $1.75 billion. The party expressed particular concern over a recent incident in which 46.7kg of cocaine was seized at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport from a Syrian national who had arrived from Accra.

Beyond the Interior Minister, the NPP is demanding the resignation of the heads of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and National Security. Mr. Boakye argued that these leadership failures have allowed Ghana to become a "cocaine coast" and a transit hub for international cartels, pointing to a separate 3.9-tonne shipment intercepted in France as evidence of institutional collapse. The opposition challenged the government to publish a roadmap for its drug taskforce and provide clarity on NACOC's claim that the Beirut incident was part of a "controlled delivery" operation.

In Parliament, the Minority Caucus has filed a motion to review the Speaker's September 29, 2026, ruling that dismissed a request for a bipartisan inquiry into the seizures. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin emphasized that the proposed probe would focus on institutional failures and port security rather than interfering with ongoing criminal investigations. While Majority Leader James Agalga initially suggested that Parliament lacks the authority for parallel investigations into active cases, he later stated that the Majority would support a credible motion for inquiry, noting that drug trafficking challenges have affected both current and past administrations.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration has dismissed the NPP's demands as baseless. Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the NDC, Tanko Rashid-Computer, urged the opposition to allow security agencies to complete their investigations without political interference. He maintained that the government is working closely with international partners to dismantle trafficking networks. As the political debate intensifies, stakeholders continue to warn that the recurring seizures and the resulting international scrutiny could damage Ghana’s reputation and impact the ease of travel for law-abiding citizens abroad.