Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has defended his description of Ghana as a potential “hub” for cocaine-related activities, insisting that the comment was intended as a metaphor rather than a literal claim.

Speaking in an interview on Adom TV’s Badwam, the Effutu MP said his remarks were made in the context of concerns over cocaine allegedly passing through Ghana’s borders and claims of possible involvement of government appointees.

He said the statement should therefore not be treated as an allegation requiring him to provide evidence.

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“It is not a matter of evidence. The statement was what I will call metaphorical; it was a metaphor,” he said.

Afenyo-Markin argued that repeated reports of cocaine allegedly passing through Ghana, alongside arrests linked to such incidents, raise questions about the effectiveness of the country’s border controls.

“If you are allowing your corridors to be flooded with cocaine and every now and then there are arrests, cocaine passes through your borders without any proper checks. When your own Cabinet Minister comes to say that, one, there are government officials involved, and two, the foreign partners don’t trust Ghana [then it is] because they feel that our system is compromised,” he added.

According to the Minority Leader, such circumstances could create an environment that facilitates the movement of cocaine through the country.

“What you are telling us is that you have created a lab for a cocaine business to drive,” he noted.

He explained that his use of the word “hub” was to describe a situation where Ghana could potentially become a transshipment point for cocaine moving from one destination to another.

“So, the language used was a metaphor,” he added.

Afenyo-Markin further maintained that the Minority’s concerns were not based solely on its own claims but reflected issues previously raised by the government.

“So what the Minority said, was only reechoing what the Minister of Interior had said,” he said.

His comments come amid ongoing political debate over Ghana’s handling of illicit drug trafficking and the effectiveness of measures to prevent the country from being used as a transit point for narcotics.

NA/VPO

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