Fallout from the MV Benjamin cocaine saga NDC BRINGS BACK NDEGO

…Police Council determines Kofi Boakye`s fate today

By Charles Takyi - Boadu

Mr. Nathan Kofi Boakye (left), Mr. Ben Ndego (right)

The Deputy Director and Head of Operations at the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), Ben Ndego, who was asked to proceed on indefinite leave after the disappearance of the MV Benjaimin cocaine, has been re-instated by the government with full salary and benefits.

The Interior Minister, Hon. Cletus Avoka, confirmed to The Chronicle yesterday that Ben Ndego has indeed been re-instated. This follows series of petitions he sent to the National Democratic Congress administration led by President Mills.

The Kufuor government interdicted Mr. Ben Ndego for compromising his position in the high profile cocaine case, but Mr. Avoka told The Chronicle that though the committee, which was tasked to investigate the issue, dully submitted its report, no action was taken against Mr. Ndego who was asked to proceed on leave with pay, pending the outcome of investigations into the strange circumstances under which 77 parcels of cocaine got missing from the notorious MV Benjamin vessel.

Hon. Avoka further told this reporter that Ndego kept petitioning the government as to why he was still on leave, when the committee had completed and submitted its report.

He also wanted to know whether the committee had made any adverse findings against him.

This persistent call, coupled with the fact that no adverse findings had been made against him, compelled the government to re-instate him. “In any case, we are saying that if the committee has submitted its report and somebody was implicated in one way or the other, take action against him.

If you don’t for 2-3years then it means that there is nothing against the man, and it is not fair to let somebody go on leave for 3years with pay, he emphasized, adding ìthere is no justification for that, so we have no option than to call him back from leave”.

Asked in what position Mr. Ndego is currently serving, the Interior Minister said “I don’t know, we are just responding to the letter asking him to go on leave.

He is supposed to go back and occupy his original position, not a new or higher position, because he didn’t attend an interview to get promotion.”

When this reporter asked him about the fate of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Nathan Kofi Boakye, who was recalled back into the police service by former President Kufuor, after being interdicted based on the same MV Benjamin cocaine case, Mr. Avoka said the Police Council would meet today (Wednesday) to discuss the issue and possibly take a decision on it.

The Chronicle