The Executive Secretary of the National Interest Movement has criticised the conduct of the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence Committee over his public allegations of two planes carrying suspicious cargo.
Susan Adu-Amankwah, contributing on Joy News’ Newsfile, questioned both the motivation and responsibility behind Reverend John Ntim Fordjour’s claims, made without proof that the planes were carrying cocaine and money.
“If he didn’t have evidence of cocaine and of money, what was he talking about?” she asked pointedly.
“Because we will reasonably think that he had gone further to say ‘suspicious flight’ and had mentioned cocaine and money. And that makes all of us think there must be something more to it.”
Her criticism centered on what she described as the misuse of political privilege and the danger of playing politics with Ghana’s international image.
Susan Adu-Amankwah’s comments come after Rev. Fordjour made allegations in Parliament and on various media platforms about suspicious aircraft landings in Ghana, but has yet to present any evidence to support those claims.
“He’s no ordinary citizen of Ghana. That’s why we pay them all that money,” she said of the MP.
“He is an MP and has privileges. If he had those suspicions, and it was not about grandstanding and about politics, he could have gone to the head of [national security].”
Susan Adu-Amankwah argued that the responsible course of action would have been for the MP to quietly engage the appropriate authorities before taking the matter public.
“That is the well-meaning Ghanaian. That is the well-meaning citizen,” she stressed. “You don’t just go hopping from station to station and grandstanding.”
She further noted the implications of such statements for Ghana’s global reputation.
“Sometimes people forget that when we go out there, it doesn’t matter whether you are NDC, NPP, independent — you are Ghanaian,” she said.
“When things go out into the public and into the world, it’s about you being Ghanaian.”
She warned that when Ghana is profiled internationally, it is not by political party but by nationality and race.
“They don’t profile us according to our political parties. They profile us according to our color, according to the country in which we come from,” she explained.
“So when you go out there thinking you are doing it against your party or for your party, and you want to grandstand, you’re doing it against all of us.”
Turning to the core of the allegations, Susan Adu-Amankwah underscored how critical the issue of drugs is to national interest, particularly among Ghana’s youth.
“Some of us feel that a lot of drug issues are already a problem in this country,” she said.
“We see the devastation Red has caused for young people. We definitely don’t want the other drugs to come and add to it.”
She called on the government to take control and investigate all legitimate suspicions, but reiterated that unsubstantiated public statements are dangerous.
“Any suspicion, yes — but when you say, ‘I mean this and this,’ we expect that you have more than just speculation,” she said. “That one, ah, you know…that’s not what well-meaning citizens do.”
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