The Minority in Parliament has formally appealed to the international diplomatic community to intervene in what it describes as a growing threat to Ghana’s national security and international reputation.
On Tuesday, April 8, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, wrote officially to the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana, Ambassador Maher Kheir of Lebanon.
The former Lands Minister was urging coordinated action to help unravel the “puzzle, conundrum, and controversy” surrounding the mysterious landing of aircraft allegedly carrying illicit goods and cash into Kotoka International Airport.
The letter follows a series of bombshell revelations, public denials, and conflicting accounts between government officials and independent checks into the suspicious movements of two AirMed flights and several Cavok Air aircraft.
According to the Minority, the flights in question originated from Gran Canaria, Spain, not Luanda, Angola, as previously claimed by government spokespersons.
“Today, independent checks have confirmed the Minority’s claims that the two AirMed flights flew to KIA straight from Gran Canaria,” the statement noted.
This directly contradicts claims by the Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who previously dismissed the allegations as “a waste of time” and suggested the President did not truly intend for the matter to be investigated.
The Minority, however, says the President’s directive was valid and must be honored.
“Unfortunately, even before these investigations could commence, the Minister attempted to make a U-turn,” the statement lamented.
With pressure mounting and public trust on the line, the Minority has now taken the extraordinary step of calling for diplomatic involvement.
“We cannot be successful in combating these transnational crimes if we fail to investigate allegations such as this,” the statement read.
“It is only through investigations that we can establish the veracity or otherwise of such allegations.”
The request to the diplomatic corps includes a five-point action plan: sharing of any intelligence held by foreign missions on the aircraft involved; deployment of international security collaborators to work with Ghanaian authorities; support for Parliament’s efforts to maintain oversight and avoid the “dangerous reputation of a drug State”; calls for a full Commission of Inquiry under Article 278 of the Constitution; and protection for whistleblowers and Members of Parliament raising alarms.
Among those cited for protection is John Ntim Fordjour, MP for Assin South and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, who is said to have been instrumental in surfacing the scandal.
Ghana, the letter stressed, is bound by international treaties like the UN Conventions on Drugs and Transnational Organised Crime and must rise to the occasion to avoid becoming a soft spot in West Africa for drug trafficking and money laundering.
“Action in this matter is urgent and consequential for national and international security,” the statement warned.
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