NACOB Boss’ silence is ‘suspicious’ – Casley Hayford

The seeming silence of the Executive Secretary of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), Akrasi Sarpong, over the recent cocaine saga is “suspicious,” according to an anti-corruption campaigner, Sydney Casley Hayford.

“Akrasi Sarpong is a very very outspoken, hard-talking, open person. I don’t know of any incident that has actually even infringed on the corners of NACOB that Akrasi Sarpong has not said a word about. So there is something amiss in all of these,” Casley Hayford stated.

NACOB earlier issued a press statement, indicating that Nayele Ametefe, the woman at the centre of the cocaine saga “was arrested on the November 10, 2014 through the collaborative effort of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and its British partners.”

But UK authorities on Friday rejected the claims and said they did not work with NACOB to arrest the woman and that they did not have any idea Ms. Ametefeh was travelling to the UK with about 12kg of cocaine in her hand luggage.

The statement issued by NACOB was signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Richard Nii Lante Blankson, instead of Akrasi Sarpong, who usually signs NACOB statements.

Before the UK High Commission to Ghana spoke on the issue, the Minister of Communications Dr. Edward Omane Boamah had also said in an interview with Citi FM that he doubted the claims of collaboration by NACOB.

“I state here and now that we discount the claims until NACOB provides the evidence that it collaborated with the British intelligence,” he stated emphatically.

Speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme The Big Issue, Mr. Casley Hayford questioned Akrasi Sarpong’s decision not to sign the press statement saying, “the fact that he did not sign the release is a matter. It matters a lot because the deputy has never signed a release like this before.”

Mr. Casley Hayford further questioned why the NACOB boss had not commented on the dissolution of the NACOB Board yet.

President John Mahama has dissolved the governing board of the NACOB.

A release issued by the Chief of Staff said further actions “will follow in due course.”