The Minority in Parliament has accused officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office of allegedly facilitating the sale of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports to unqualified individuals, including foreigners, and is pushing for an independent parliamentary investigation into the matter.

The caucus claims some applicants were given fictitious government positions to qualify for the special passports, while payments were allegedly collected through intermediaries who promised to facilitate their travel to Europe and other destinations without visa restrictions.

At a press conference led by the Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minority said it had obtained letters bearing approvals issued under the authority of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, bank deposit slips, mobile money transaction records and copies of passports which it believes point to an organised arrangement to exploit Ghana's passport issuance system.

The Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, said the allegations were too serious to be left unresolved, particularly because they involved official documents issued in the name of the Republic of Ghana.

He recalled that the caucus had previously attempted to raise the matter in Parliament through the Foreign Affairs Committee but could not fully pursue it under the circumstances at the time.

According to him, the Majority Leader subsequently acknowledged that the matter had occurred and disclosed that an individual had been interdicted. The Director of Passports, Yahaya Amantana Mahama, was also interdicted following the controversy.

Annoh-Dompreh said the Minority would follow the appropriate parliamentary procedure to secure a full investigation and provide Ghanaians with answers.

Abu Jinapor subsequently announced that the caucus would file a motion seeking the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged irregular issuance and sale of diplomatic and service passports.

He also questioned a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shortly before the press conference, arguing that it did not adequately address the concerns raised by the Minority.

"The Ministry's statement does not answer any of the issues we are about to raise, and indeed that statement further strengthens our call for an independent parliamentary probe," he said.


How the alleged passport scheme operated

Explaining the basis of the Minority's allegations, Jinapor claimed that some officials within the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Passport Office had allegedly established or operated a travel and tour business through which customers could obtain diplomatic and service passports in exchange for money.

He identified Ibrahim Bua as the alleged manager of the business in Ghana and Bright Yeboah Osu as an agent based in Europe.

According to Jinapor, the arrangement targeted people who did not qualify for the special passports but wanted to use them to travel to countries where holders enjoyed visa-free entry.

He alleged that applicants were assigned government positions and official designations they did not occupy, with some of the positions supposedly attributed to them not even existing.

The Ranking Member further claimed that officials allegedly assisted some passport holders through the airport to avoid or minimise scrutiny by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service.

The Minority believes several Ghanaians and foreigners may have travelled to Europe and other destinations using passports obtained through the alleged arrangement.


Letters bearing ministerial approval raise questions

As part of the evidence presented, Jinapor displayed letters signed by the Ministry's Chief Director, Ambassador Khadija Iddrisu, on the authority of the Foreign Affairs Minister, approving the issuance of service passports to individuals presented as officials of various public institutions.

One of the documents, dated June 1, 2026, and referenced SCR.PA1/S, reportedly approved service passports for individuals described as officials of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council.

Among the names was Amoah Aboodi, who was listed as Director of Audit Services.

However, Jinapor said another letter dated June 4, 2026, bearing reference number SCR.PA/S, listed the same individual as a Deputy District Coordinating Director of the Accra District Assembly.

He questioned how one person could be presented as holding two different positions in separate public institutions within three days for the purpose of obtaining a service passport.

"Do these entries refer to the same person? If so, how did the same person come to be presented under two different official positions at two different institutions for the purpose of obtaining these passports?" he asked.

The Minority also presented a June 5, 2026, letter approving service passports for four individuals described as officials of the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training Service.

Other documents included an August 6, 2026, letter concerning supposed officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and an August 7, 2026, letter relating to individuals presented as officials of the Fisheries Commission.

Jinapor claimed the Minority's checks suggested that some of the individuals named in the documents did not work at the institutions concerned, while some of the positions attributed to them did not exist.

He argued that the documents raised fundamental questions about the verification processes used before the passport approvals were granted.

Bank deposits, MoMo payments allegedly linked to passport deals

Beyond the approval letters, the Minority said it had obtained records of payments allegedly made to an intermediary identified as receiving money on behalf of officials involved in the arrangement.

Jinapor displayed GCB Bank cash deposit receipts showing payments made on June 15 and June 24, 2026, as well as mobile money transaction records involving the same agent.

He claimed the payments were made by individuals seeking service passports and the accompanying travel arrangements.

According to him, some customers became dissatisfied after paying for the service because the promised assistance at the airport did not materialise.

He said some of the individuals subsequently complained that calls to the agents and officials went unanswered and that attempts to recover their money had proved unsuccessful.

Jinapor claimed these complaints contributed to the information reaching the Minority and eventually prompted its investigation.

He also said the caucus had obtained copies of diplomatic and service passports issued to individuals it believed did not meet the legal requirements for holding such documents.

The Minority questioned how many people may have obtained the passports through the alleged arrangement, how many had travelled with them and who ultimately benefited from the payments.

Why the passports are a major concern

Jinapor explained that diplomatic and service passports are special travel documents issued under the authority of the Republic of Ghana and are intended for specific categories of people undertaking official state duties.

He cited Sections 6 and 7 of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967 (NLCD 55), as amended, which provide for the categories of persons eligible to hold diplomatic and service passports.

Diplomatic passports are generally issued to specified government officials, diplomats, consular officers, heads of delegations representing Ghana at international conferences and other prominent citizens or high public officials where the government considers the document necessary for their travel.

Service passports, on the other hand, are intended for public officers and other eligible Ghanaians travelling abroad on official state business who do not qualify for diplomatic passports.

Jinapor said the documents also offer visa-free access to several destinations, making them attractive to individuals who might otherwise face lengthy visa application procedures, costs or rejection.

He claimed diplomatic passport holders could enter 62 countries without a visa, while service passport holders enjoyed visa-free access to 59 countries.

According to him, the difference in access largely concerns Hong Kong, Qatar and Turkey.

He warned that allowing people to obtain the documents through false official designations could damage Ghana's international reputation and undermine foreign governments' confidence in the country's travel documents.

"If these passports can be bought under false official designations, it will mean that the system for issuing them has been hugely compromised," he said.

"The power to issue these passports carries a corresponding duty to protect their integrity. It must never be used to manufacture official status for paying customers."

Minority wants all passport approvals from 2025 investigated

The proposed parliamentary inquiry, according to Jinapor, would examine all approvals and issuances of diplomatic and service passports from January 7, 2025, up to the date Parliament adopts the motion.

The Minority wants the committee to establish how many passports were properly issued, identify those allegedly obtained through irregular means and determine whether any beneficiaries have continued using the documents.

It is also seeking access to passport applications, institutional recommendations, approval letters, issuance and collection records, payment records and communications relating to the transactions.

Jinapor said the committee should have the authority to summon the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Ministry's Chief Director, the interdicted Director of Passports, identified agents, relevant passport and immigration officers and beneficiaries of the documents to provide evidence.

He cited Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides for parliamentary committees to investigate the activities and administration of ministries and other public institutions.

He argued that Parliament had the constitutional authority to summon witnesses, demand documents and examine individuals under oath or affirmation.

The Minority also wants the committee to recommend disciplinary action, recovery of monies and criminal investigations where wrongdoing is established.

Jinapor maintained that the Ministry's internal investigation could not replace an independent parliamentary inquiry, particularly because some of the allegations involved officials and procedures within the Ministry itself.

He invoked the legal principle nemo judex in causa sua, which means that no one should be a judge in their own cause, to argue that the institution whose officials and processes were under scrutiny should not be left to investigate the matter alone.

He further questioned why members of the Ministry's investigative committee had allegedly been instructed not to speak publicly about the investigation, describing the situation as a reason for greater parliamentary scrutiny.

The Ranking Member appealed to members of the Majority Caucus to support the proposed motion, insisting that backing an investigation would not amount to accepting the allegations as proven.

"Supporting an inquiry does not require anyone to accept the allegations as proven; it requires us to agree that allegations of this seriousness and magnitude, supported by the material we have presented to you today, deserve a thorough and credible examination," he said.

Foreign Affairs Ministry's response

The Minority's demand comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into allegations of irregular issuance of Ghanaian service passports.

In a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the Ministry disclosed that its preliminary investigations had identified 10 individuals who allegedly obtained service passports despite not meeting the eligibility requirements.

The Ministry, however, made an important distinction between the two categories of documents, stating that there was, so far, no evidence to establish that Ghanaian diplomatic passports were being sold.

It said the investigation was focused specifically on service passports and urged the public not to conflate the two categories.


According to the Ministry, the investigation followed two petitions received on October 8, 2026. One petitioner allegedly claimed to have paid US$29,000 in 2023 to secure a service passport, while another reported paying US$5,000 in 2026.

Following the petitions, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa directed the establishment of an investigative committee on October 13, 2026.

The Ministry subsequently cancelled the 10 service passports identified in its preliminary investigations and said Ghana's international partners had been notified that the documents were no longer valid. It also disclosed that beneficiaries, including two individuals who allegedly travelled abroad using the documents in 2023, were being pursued.


In a further development on Sunday, the Ministry announced that the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, had been interdicted and referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

The Ministry identified Sumani as the alleged central figure in the scheme, saying he had been named in all the petitions. It also disclosed that retired Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who was Director of Passports during the period when some of the alleged irregularities occurred in 2023, would be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable.


The developments have intensified calls for accountability over the administration of Ghana's special travel documents, with the Minority insisting that Parliament must independently establish the full extent of the alleged wrongdoing.

For Jinapor, the central issue goes beyond the individuals whose passports are being investigated.

He warned that any compromise in the system could undermine the credibility of Ghanaian travel documents and expose legitimate public officials travelling on state business to unnecessary suspicion.

"The authority of the Republic must never become a private means of financial gain," he said, adding that the Minority would pursue every lawful avenue to ensure that the allegations were investigated and those found culpable held accountable.

EA