General News of Thursday, 8 December 2005

Source: The Sun

NPP Not Ashamed Of Eric Amoateng?s Case

The cocaine issue, which Eric Amoateng has been allegedly involved in, still generates public debate as to how an honourable MP could do that.

Though all the politicians ? the NDC, NPP, PNC, CPP and GCPP leaders have condemned Mr. Eric Amoateng?s affairs, the leading NPP member says the party would not bow down its head in shame.

In an interview with the Deputy Minister of Agric in charge of Fisheries, Hon. Daniel Dugan, he said the NPP could not be blamed for Eric Amoateng?s gains. As he expressed, this is not the first time cocaine issues have hit the government but revealed that in the late 90s, when the NDC was in power, similar incidence occurred in Switzerland where the second in command to Ghana?s ambassador to Switzerland, Mr. Frank Benneh, was arrested.

He said Benneh was busted in Switzerland few weeks after the then NDC government had signed an international treaty that it would withhold all diplomatic immunity from any diplomat who would involve himself in drugs. But in the case of Benneh, which was more like a test case, the NDC government quickly stepped in and requested that he be brought back home to stand trial. He noted that, after Benneh was brought back home, nothing was done about the case. This, he said, is against the present case of Eric Amoateng, whereby the party and the government have stayed away without given him any immunity.