Paul Awentami Afoko, an aspiring National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has recounted how allegations that he dealt in drugs and had been imprisoned abroad led to his temporary removal from the party’s vetting process.
Afoko said the allegations emerged during his vetting and led to his being asked to stay at home for six weeks while investigations were conducted to determine whether the claims were true.
He said his details were subsequently submitted to Interpol for further checks at its headquarters in Manchester.
“And you see, those who tried to stop me at my vetting said I was a cocaine dealer abroad and that I had been jailed abroad. So, they said they wouldn’t pass me through the vetting and that I should go. I had to go and sit at home for six weeks,” he said.
“They took my details to Interpol to investigate me at their headquarters in Manchester.”
According to Afoko, he was eventually asked to resume his campaign even though the party had not yet received the outcome of the Interpol investigation.
“For six weeks, I was in the house, and after six weeks, they called me to continue with my campaign. So, I asked whether Interpol had responded. They said no, and that I should continue with my campaign and that when the report came, they would call me,” he added.
Speaking in an interview on Akoma FM on August 6, 2026, Afoko also linked the allegations to his financial support for party activities at the grassroots level.
He said he had encouraged every constituency in the party to open bank accounts and subsequently donated GH¢10,000 to each account to support activities such as funerals, outdooring ceremonies and other party engagements.
“I made every constituency in the party open bank accounts at the time, and I donated GH¢10,000 to every account because those people are the grassroots working for the party by going to funerals, outdooring ceremonies and other activities,” he said.
Afoko said he remained dissatisfied with the lack of a clear response from Interpol and decided to visit the organisation’s office at the Police Headquarters to seek clarification on the outcome of the investigation.
“I wasn’t convinced, so I went to the Interpol office at the Police Headquarters, at the CID headquarters on the fourth floor, where their office is located,” he said.
According to Afoko, officials told him that the report had already been submitted to the NPP. He said he was subsequently given access to the file, which, he claimed, contained Interpol’s findings.
“I asked them about the report, but they said they had already given it to the party. So, they gave me the file and when I looked at it, Interpol had stated that Paul Afoko was clean. They said I was unknown to all prison institutions in the world,” he added.
Afoko’s account places the Interpol investigation at the centre of the allegations that temporarily disrupted his campaign during the party’s vetting process.
