In a Facebook post, Mr Awuku specifically raised concerns about the participation of heads of key state institutions without their supervising ministers.

He questioned why the heads of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority and Ghana Airports Company Limited, all under the Ministry of Transport, would attend such an important meeting without the Minister for Transport.

He similarly pointed to the presence of the Ghana Police Service and the Narcotics Control Commission, which fall under the Ministry of the Interior, without the minister responsible for the sector.

According to Mr Awuku, the seriousness of Ghana’s drug trafficking concerns requires more than what he described as an “optics exercise.”

He questioned how the decisions taken at the meeting would be supervised and implemented when the ministers with direct responsibility for the institutions involved were not part of the discussions.

“After this meeting, who exactly is expected to supervise and drive the implementation of the decisions reached?” he asked.

Mr Awuku also expressed concern that the approach could create another layer of coordination instead of working through the ministries and structures already mandated to handle such matters.

He urged President Mahama to treat the issue with greater seriousness, stressing the need for clear responsibility and effective coordination in tackling illicit drug trafficking.

“Mr. President, respectfully, please let us take this matter seriously for a moment,” he said, before ending his post with the expression, “Y’abrɛ ooo.”

According to him, while such a move would likely face stiff resistance from members of the President’s own party, the United Party would have no objection if Mr Mahama chose to pursue another term.

Speaking on Prime Insight on JoyPrime on Saturday, July 18, Mr Owusu argued that President Mahama’s political experience would shape any decision on the matter.

“He (John Mahama) has the numbers in Parliament, but let me tell you something, his greatest opposition will rather come from within, not from outside. John Mahama, currently, is the most experienced politician in this country, and he knows it,” he said.

He added: “By the way, from the United Party’s point of view, we don’t have any problem even if they try to get him into the third term, because remember that John Mahama lost in 2016.”

Mr Owusu’s comments come amid ongoing public debate over presidential term limits, although President Mahama has not indicated that he intends to seek a third term in office.

Addressing the issue during his tour of the Volta Region on Friday, July 17, President Mahama reiterated his view that the constitutional provisions on presidential tenure are clear.

“I know that people have to go to the court seeking interpretation of the clause that governs the tenure of the president. If you ask my personal opinion, I think that it was clear enough. I have read it over and over again, and it is exactly what it says, but if they want to ask the Supreme Court, that is their business.

“But I know that the people of Ghana gave me one additional term, and I am going to work to meet the trust that they put in me,” the President said.

Meanwhile, President Mahama has reiterated that he’s not interested in pursuing a third-term bid.