Flashback: NDC promised Nayele $3m to shut up - Ken Agyapong

In the year 2014, Member of Parliament for Assin Central in the Central Region, Kennedy Agyapong made some shocking revelations on why drug baroness, Nayele Ametefeh kept mute all of a sudden when she was standing trial in court.

According to the outspoken lawmaker, some members of the then ruling party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) promised Nayele Ametefeh an amount of 3 million dollars to keep her mouth shut on her drug trade saga and asserted that he had an evidence to buttress his allegations.

In an interview with Accra based radio station, Okay FM, Ken Agyapong said ‘the lady would have preferred to open her defense in the drug trade, but the promise of the money made her decide to go solo.’

“Let me give you another bombshell, this government has promised the girl [Nayele Ametefeh], that she would be rewarded an amount of three million dollars if she remains silent on the case…,” he emphasized.

He further stated that Nayele had also been assured of her intention to appeal the case and come out with various details of the charge if the promised amount is not given to her family for keeps while she serves her prison term.

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central in the Central Region, Kennedy Agyapong says he has evidence to the effect that elements in government have promised embattled drug baroness, Nayele Ametefeh an amount of $3 million for her to ‘keep her mouth shut’ during her trial.

Read the full story originally published on December 3, 2014, on Ghanaweb

The NPP firebrand who was responding to a publication by the Al Hajj Newspaper that he is wanted in the United Kingdom for his alleged involvement in the drug trade said ‘the lady would have preferred to open her defense in the drug trade, but the promise of the money made her decide to go solo.’

“Let me give you another bombshell, this government has promised the girl [Nayele Ametefeh], that she would be rewarded an amount of three million dollars if she remains silent on the case…,” the MP revealed on Accra-based Okay fm.

He further stated that Nayele has also been assured of her intention to appeal the case and come out with various details of the charge if the promised amount is not given to her family for keeps while she serves her prison term.

The drug baroness, who bears several names and travelled on an Austrian passport from Ghana to London on 9th November 2014 was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport for carrying in her hand-held luggage 12.5 kg of the illicit drug.

Her arrest led to political turmoil in the country with leaders of the NPP and the NDC pointing accusing fingers at each other for being complicit in the drug business.

The Al Hajj newspaper in tandem with the on-going accusations concerning the drug case mentioned Kennedy Agyapong as someone wanted in the UK for his involvement in the drug business.

And this accusation, the NPP MP said are untrue and dared the editor of the pro-NDC newspaper to come out to prove his claim adding that ‘I would spend two days in London before the end of the year so that I can be arrested.’

He claimed the publication by the newspaper is part of attempts by the NDC to make him the subject of discussion to sway attention from debates on the illicit drug business and government’s involvement.

“Those NDC guys are enticing the lady not to talk, failure to do this would lead the lady to go on to mention names of known government and NDC guys who are guilty in the business…,” he alleged.

On the arrest of several people in connection with the drug trade, Ken Agyapong said the government is only causing the arrests of innocent workers at the Kotoka International Airport to divert attention adding that the workers couldn’t have issued instructions to facilitate the passage of the drug without the backing of people in government.

He thus urged the Foreign Affairs Ministry to conduct extensive investigations on the number of diplomatic passports issued if government indeed seeks to know the real culprits behind the drug business.