BY DANIEL BAMPOE
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by its General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, has petitioned the United States Embassy in Accra over the alleged irregular issuance of service passports to six individuals, accusing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of approving the documents using questionable public service designations.
In a petition dated October 30, 2026, and addressed to the US Chargé d’Affaires in Accra, Rolf Olson, the NPP is asking the American authorities to introduce stricter verification procedures for Ghanaian diplomatic and service passport holders, particularly those whose documents were issued from January 7, 2025.
It is believed that some cartel is operating at the Foreign Affairs Ministry engaging in passport racketeering.
The party claims that six individuals were granted service passports after being presented as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Fisheries Commission, despite allegedly not holding the positions attributed to them in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ approval letters.
The petition centres on two letters issued by the Ministry on August 6 and 7, 2026, which the NPP says approved service passports for the six individuals using official designations that do not reflect the actual staffing arrangements at the two institutions.
According to the party, the first letter approved passports for three individuals described as senior officials of NADMO. They are Twumasi Francis Kwame, identified as Deputy Director of Climate Change; Shaibu Alhassan Abu, described as Director of Hydro; and Gyabaah Anthony, listed as Director of Geology.
However, the NPP alleges that the positions attributed to the three individuals are held by other public officers. It identified Ebenezer Vandyke, Dr Bertha Kusimi and Bright Atama as the officials who actually occupy the respective positions.
he party argues that the discrepancy raises questions about how the Ministry verified the employment status and official designations of the individuals before approving their applications for service passports.
The second letter, dated August 7, reportedly covered three individuals presented as officials of the Fisheries Commission. They are Bennor Yussif, listed as Deputy Director of Information Technology; Issah Ayisha, described as Deputy Director and Aquaculture Specialist; and Adom Emmanuel Kwabena, identified as Assistant Finance Manager.
The NPP claims that the position of Deputy Director of Information Technology is occupied by another officer, while the designation of Deputy Director of Aquaculture Specialist does not exist within the Fisheries Commission. It further alleges that the Commission has no position designated as Assistant Finance Manager.
To support its claims, the party says it attached photographs of officers it identifies as the legitimate occupants of ome of the positions in question, including Ebenezer Vandyke, Dr Bertha Kusimi, Bright Atama, Gideon Boakye and Robert Ampadu.
The NPP says the photographs were provided to assist the US Mission in verifying the identities and employment status of individuals who may present the passports for visa applications or other official travel arrangements.
A major concern raised in the petition is that the passports were reportedly approved strictly for official use. The party argues that if the beneficiaries do not occupy the public offices stated in the approval documents, their eligibility to hold such travel documents becomes questionable.
The NPP contends that official passports are issued to facilitate legitimate state business and that the designation of a aport holder should therefore correspond with an actual public office and an authorised official assignment.
Beyond the six individuals, the opposition party says it has reason to believe that the cases may not be isolated. It alleges that other individuals who do not hold qualifying public positions may have received diplomatic or service passports since the current administration assumed office on January 7, 2025.
Although the petition does not identify additional beneficiaries, the party is calling for a wider examination of all diplomatic and service passports issued within the period.
The NPP has consequently asked the US Mission to suspend the granting of visas, visa waivers and diplomatic or official courtesies to the six individuals named in its petition, pending verification of their eligibility.
It is also asking the American authorities to subject applications involving Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports issued from January 7, 2025, to rigorous checks, including direct confirmation of the passport holders’ official positions with the relevant state institutions.
The party further wants the US Mission to share relevant information with other American government agencies to determine whether any passports suspected to have been irregularly issued may have been used for purposes beyond legitimate official travel.
The petition also turns attention to the government’s responsibility in managing Ghana’s official travel documents. The NPP is demanding the immediate cancellation of diplomatic and service passports issued to individuals who do not hold the public positions claimed in their applications.
It is further asking the government to publish a comprehensive list of all diplomatic and service passports issued since January 2025, indicating the names of the beneficiaries, their respective public offices and the legal basis for granting them the documents.
Another major demand is an independent investigation into the entire passport issuance process. The party wants the Auditor-General or another independent institution outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lead the exercise, with the findings made available to the public.
The NPP is also demanding that passports confirmed to have been issued irregularly be retrieved and that individuals found to have participated in any wrongdoing be referred to the appropriate investigative agencies for possible criminal prosecution.
It wants the government, after the audit, to formally notify accredited foreign missions about the outcome of the investigation to help restore confidence in Ghana’s official travel documents.
The party has linked its concerns to what it describes as growing damage to Ghana’s international reputation, citing recent drug interceptions and prosecutions involving Ghanaian nationals abroad.
Among the incidents referenced is the September 10, 2026 seizure by French customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, reportedly valued at approximately €225 million, in a consignment shipped from Ghana.
The NPP also cited an August 2026 interception at the Tema Port, where Ghanaian police reportedly seized 866 parcels of cocaine concealed in sacks of gari. It further referred to cases involving Ghanaian nationals prosecuted abroad over alleged fraud targeting elderly victims.
The party argues that such developments make it necessary for Ghana to protect the credibility of its official travel documents and ensure that diplomatic and service passports are issued only to individuals who meet the required criteria.
