In Ghana, the main opposition party in parliament, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), says the majority New Patriotic Party failed to properly screen one of its MPs, who is now in police custody in the United States on drug charges. Eric Amoateng was arrested early last week at JFK Airport in New York, when he and an accomplice were found with six million dollars worth of heroine.
The majority leader in parliament, Felix Owusu-Agyepong, told English to Africa reporter Kofi Abotchie that the party’s vetting committee did appropriately scrutinize Mr. Amoateng before he was confirmed as a candidate for parliament. But he says the legislator misled the body when he asked for permission to leave the country. Mr. Amoateng reportedly told parliamentary officials that he wanted to go to the United States to visit a sick daughter in New York City.
