Senior aide to NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has challenged the government to prove through action that Ghana does not deserve the increasingly used “Cocaine Coast” label.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, October 1, 2026, Mr Aboagye directed his comments at government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu.
He argued that simply rejecting the description would not be enough, especially in the wake of several major drug trafficking cases linked to Ghana.
“Hon. Felix, you know very well your mouth alone isn’t enough to reject a name earned by action,” he wrote.
His comments came after Mr Kwakye Ofosu rejected the “Cocaine Coast” description. The government spokesperson said the seizure of drugs and arrests made by Ghanaian security agencies show that the country’s anti-narcotics institutions are working.
However, he also acknowledged concerns about drug consignments that manage to pass through Ghana and are later intercepted in other countries.
Mr Aboagye said the “Cocaine Coast” label was not based on cocaine seized by Ghanaian authorities. Instead, he said, it was linked to the large quantities of cocaine reportedly passing through Ghana before being intercepted abroad.
“And you also know, the name cocaine coast wasn’t earned based on any busts in Ghana,” he said.
“Ghana is now being named cocaine coast as a result of unprecedented, historic, large quantities of cocaine that passed through our ports right before the eyes of this government and security operatives and then eventually arrested on foreign lands.”
He further claimed that some cocaine consignments had entered and left Ghana without being intercepted.
According to him, this had happened “not once, not twice but about seven different ones within 20 months”.
The comments come at a time when Ghana’s ports and security systems are facing increased scrutiny following several major drug cases.
In September, French customs authorities seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk from a container carrying plastic waste that had left Ghana.
The seizure has since become a major part of discussions about Ghana’s alleged involvement in international drug trafficking.
Other cases reported in recent months include the seizure of 866 parcels of cocaine at Tema Harbour in August and the interception of more than 5,100 parcels of suspected drugs in the Oti Region in September.
The government, however, has said such cases should not automatically mean that Ghana has become a cocaine trafficking hub.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu said there is a need to distinguish between drug consignments intercepted by Ghanaian authorities and those that pass through the country undetected before being seized abroad.
He also said President John Mahama had brought the security agencies together to address weaknesses in Ghana’s port security system.
The concerns include information sharing and coordination between the various agencies. The President has directed the agencies to work more closely and strengthen security at Ghana’s ports to prevent drug trafficking.
Mr Aboagye, however, said the government needs to do more than reject the label through public statements.
“We can reject the name by action and not speaking,” he said.
The NPP communicator has previously called for a parliamentary inquiry into the series of cocaine-related cases, saying the matter should be treated as a national concern rather than a partisan political issue.
