A former Member of Parliament for Odododiodio constituency and the incumbent National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lantey Vanderpuye Esq., has said that the inability of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to arrest Rev. Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South and Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament was due to timely intervention and plea by the minority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
The former MP, while speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, April 10, stated that the Minority Leader had appealed to National Security to allow him to personally present Rev. Ntim Fordjour, at their office by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
He added that the NIB authorities granted the request of the minority leader, thus, calling off the operation and vacating the premises of the Assin South lawmaker.
“What happened yesterday is not news. The Member of Parliament was not in Parliament as the operation was going on. The invitation through the Speaker is only when there is an invitation. The fact that you are a Member of Parliament does not absolve you from being arrested, but it is only a privilege that you have, and that privilege is only exercised through the Speaker.”
According to him, the presence of minority Members of Parliament and some party sympathisers at the residence of the Rev. Ntim Fordjour was a mere theatrical and dramatic display geared towards winning public sympathy, describing it as unnecessary.
“What happened yesterday was a drama because the Minority Leader asked him whether he has not agreed with government officials on how to exercise this right. He had an agreement with our people that at any point in time, any of his people are needed, he will voluntarily present them,” he said.
Nii Lantey Vanderpuye stated, “Afenyo-Markin yesterday pleaded that he will present Ntim Fordjour today at 10 a.m. That is what led to the abrogation of the operation. Other than that, all of them would have spent the night in his house and held a vigil to prevent the National Security from exercising their duty. And because we are a listening government, we allowed and accepted his plea.”
The former Odododiodio lawmaker’s statement follows a Wednesday, April 9 operation by the NIB in an attempt to arrest Rev, Ntim Fordjour over allegations he had made concerning two aircraft that landed at the Kotoka International Airport believed to have been used as a conduit for drug trafficking and money laundering.
After making the allegations, President John Dramani Mahama called for a thorough investigations into the claims and further called on the maker of the statement to cooperate with the investigative bodies as they unravel the truth in the allegations.
In response, officials from the NIB moved to detain him at his residence, however, the intervention of the Minority Leader led to the suspension of the operation.
