Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul has clarified that the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) was never removed from Ghana’s ports under the previous administration.

According to him, the agency remained at the ports but was excluded from the routine physical inspection of containers as part of reforms introduced in 2018.

Speaking in a TV3 interview on Saturday, September 19, 2026, Nitiwul said the decision aimed to reduce delays, bureaucracy, and possible corruption associated with multiple agencies inspecting the same containers.

“NACOC has never been kicked out of the port, not at all. NACOC has always been in the ports and doing their work,” he said.

He explained that before the reforms, several agencies physically opened and inspected containers, a situation he said caused delays for importers.

“What the government did then was to reduce the number of agencies that physically inspect containers,” he said.

Nitiwul said the change did not prevent NACOC and other security agencies from inspecting containers based on intelligence.

“They still check containers, but then they do that when it comes to intelligence-led, but not every container that they were supposed to check,” he explained.

He acknowledged that NACOC was removed from the joint container inspection process in 2018 but insisted that this should not be interpreted as the agency being removed from the port.

“So, is it the case that NACOC was removed from joint inspections in 2018? Exactly. That's what they did,” he said.

Nitiwul’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny of Ghana’s port security following the seizure of a large cocaine consignment in France from a container that originated from Ghana. President John Dramani Mahama has since directed that NACOC be restored to the joint container inspection regime.

The former Defence Minister said the current drug trafficking concerns require a broader investigation rather than partisan arguments.

“As I said, it was just to curb bureaucracy, corruption, and to bring efficiency. That's why they did that,” he said.

He called for a bipartisan parliamentary committee to investigate the recent drug trafficking cases and make recommendations to strengthen Ghana’s systems.

“Let us all form a committee, preferably a bipartisan parliamentary committee. Let's investigate it,” he said.

Nitiwul also urged Parliament to invite security experts, academics and other stakeholders to contribute to finding lasting solutions.

“Parliament should invite experts. Parliament should invite people, security analysts, experts,” he added.

NA/VPO