By Daniel Bampoe
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has intensified its attack on President John Dramani Mahama’s administration over allegations that public institutions were used to facilitate visa applications for individuals falsely presented as government employees, demanding the resignation of the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, and the chief executive officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Efua Houadjeto.
The opposition party says the controversy surrounding visa applications to the United States and Canada ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has developed into a major governance issue, raising questions about the conduct of public officials, the alleged collection of hundreds of thousands of dollars from applicants, and the potential damage to Ghana’s international reputation.
In a statement issued at a press conference in Accra on October 15, 2026, and signed by NPP National Communications Director, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, the party accused the government of attempting to contain the controversy by focusing on the suspension or removal of the Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, while leaving other officials whose institutions allegedly featured in the disputed arrangements untouched.
The party revealed that some anti-graft bodies including the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) have been petitioned to investigate the $620,000 visa scandal.
The party insists that the matter cannot be treated as an isolated administrative failure within the NSA, arguing that the documents it says have been presented to Parliament and other investigative bodies point to a chain of decisions involving the NSA, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the GTA and a private event organisation, TRIBE Culture Fest.
The NPP’s demands come as the allegations move beyond political exchanges, with the Minority’s Ranking Member on Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, reportedly petitioning the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Presidency to investigate the matter and consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry.
At the centre of the controversy is the allegation that official government correspondence and institutional credentials were used to support visa applications by people who were not employees of the public institutions under whose names they were presented.
The NPP says the allegations, if established, would raise serious questions about the integrity of Ghana’s public administration and the country’s dealings with foreign diplomatic missions.
How the TRIBE Culture Fest Arrangement Became Controversial
According to the documents cited by the NPP, the controversy can be traced to an agreement dated June 2, 2025, between the NSA and TRIBE Culture Fest.
The party claims the memorandum of understanding granted the private organisation exclusive operational access to NSA facilities, an arrangement it says contradicts earlier explanations that TRIBE Culture Fest was merely renting facilities in the same manner as other private entities.
The agreement has become a significant part of the opposition’s argument because of the subsequent arrangements allegedly made for visa processing involving individuals identified as NSA personnel.
The NPP further cites a supplementary agreement dated January 19, 2026, under which the NSA allegedly agreed to pay TRIBE Culture Fest US$3,000 per person for United States visa processing and US$2,000 for Canadian visa processing.
The party says the arrangement specifically referred to NSA personnel and provided for payment irrespective of whether an applicant was ultimately granted a visa.
The opposition has questioned the rationale behind the arrangement, particularly the identities and employment status of the people whose applications were reportedly processed through the agreement.
It argues that the involvement of a private organisation in a process associated with public officials requires a full disclosure of the contractual terms, the beneficiaries, the payments made and the responsibilities assigned to the institutions involved.
The complete agreements and the underlying payment records would be necessary to establish the precise obligations of each party and determine whether any provisions were breached.
US Embassy Flagged Alleged False Job Titles
One of the most serious allegations concerns correspondence reportedly sent to the United States Embassy in Accra on January 28, 2026.
The NPP says the NSA’s Chief Operations Officer submitted a list of 22 people described as staff members of the Authority.
According to the opposition, the list included individuals identified as a board secretary and procurement officers, positions it alleges did not correspond with the actual staffing arrangements at the NSA.
The controversy reportedly escalated on March 18, 2026, when the US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit flagged four applicants whose stated positions were questioned and requested evidence of their employment.
The NPP alleges that the NSA responded on the same day with a letter confirming their appointments. These claims have raised questions about the procedures used to verify the identities and employment status of applicants before their information was transmitted to foreign diplomatic missions.
If the documents are authentic and the allegations are substantiated, investigators would need to establish who prepared the disputed lists, who verified the applicants’ employment details, who authorised the correspondence and whether officials knowingly supplied inaccurate information.
The circumstances surrounding the embassy’s intervention are particularly important because they could help investigators determine when officials first became aware of possible discrepancies in the applications.
The opposition says the March correspondence should also be examined against subsequent communications involving the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Canadian Embassy.
Ministry’s Letter to US Embassy Under Scrutiny
The NPP has also challenged the Ministry of Sports and Recreation’s involvement in the visa arrangements, citing a letter reportedly sent to the US Embassy on May 28, 2026.
According to the party, the letter was titled “Request for Ministerial Support and Visa Facilitation Consideration for NSA Volunteers/Event Coordinators” and transmitted a list containing approximately 90 names.
The opposition argues that the use of ministerial letterhead to submit names for visa consideration raises questions about the level of verification undertaken before the list was forwarded.
It has rejected the suggestion that the Ministry’s role was merely administrative, contending that a letter requesting ministerial support could carry considerable weight when presented to a foreign diplomatic mission.
The NPP has also questioned the Ministry’s explanation that the request was received on May 25 and forwarded on May 28, arguing that the three-day period raises concerns about the extent of due diligence undertaken.
It wants investigators to establish whether appointment letters, payroll records, Social Security and National Insurance Trust records or other employment documents were examined before the names were transmitted.
The party has further questioned the Ministry’s reported position that genuine NSA and Ministry personnel were processed through a separate diplomatic channel.
According to the opposition, that explanation creates a need to clarify the identities and status of the individuals included in the separate list.
However, the precise implications of the Ministry’s correspondence, including whether the letter constituted an endorsement of the applicants’ employment claims, remain matters that must be established from the original documents and the accounts of those involved.
The NPP maintains that the Ministry must explain its actions rather than rely on general assurances that the Minister did not personally benefit from the arrangement.
It argues that financial benefit is not the only issue under investigation, pointing to potential questions about administrative responsibility, supervision and the accuracy of representations made to foreign authorities.
Canadian Embassy’s List Raises Further Questions
The allegations took another turn when the NSA reportedly submitted a list of 102 applicants to the Canadian Embassy on June 8, 2026.
The NPP claims that the submission followed a request from the Canadian Embassy for a fresh and accurate account of the applicants’ employment status and official responsibilities.
According to the opposition’s account, only 15 of the 102 individuals on the list were verified as NSA personnel, leaving 87 whose employment status was allegedly not established as that of NSA employees.
The party further alleges that some applicants were assigned titles such as chaplain and head of security, which it says did not reflect genuine positions within the Authority.
These claims, if substantiated, could become central to determining whether applicants were incorrectly presented as public officials to strengthen their visa applications.
Investigators would need to compare the names on the Canadian submission with official staff records, establish who compiled the list and determine the basis on which each applicant was described.
The NPP is demanding that the original lists submitted to both embassies be made public, alongside the employment records and correspondence used to verify the applicants.
It also wants the government to clarify whether any individuals obtained visas or travelled under the disputed arrangements and whether any of those who travelled have since failed to return to Ghana.
The party says the government must provide answers because the allegations extend beyond the conduct of individual applicants to the credibility of the public institutions whose names appeared in the correspondence.
More Than $600,000 Allegedly Collected From Applicants
The financial dimension of the controversy has emerged as another major point of contention.The NPP alleges that some applicants paid between US$8,000 and US$14,000 each for assistance with visa processing, despite the contractual rates reportedly set at US$3,000 for US applications and US$2,000 for Canadian applications.
The party also cites an allegation involving a person who reportedly made a part-payment of nearly US$20,000.
It says media reports have put the total amount allegedly collected at more than US$600,000, a figure the statement says was confirmed by the Minister for Sports and Recreation.
The exact amount collected, the number of people who paid, the recipients of the money and the extent to which any funds have been recovered remain questions for investigators to establish from bank records, receipts, contracts and witness statements.
The difference between the alleged payments by applicants and the rates specified in the NSA-TRIBE arrangement is a central issue for the investigation.
If applicants paid substantially more than the contractual rates, investigators would need to determine whether the additional amounts represented other legitimate expenses, unauthorised charges or money collected by intermediaries for purposes unrelated to the stated agreement.
The NPP insists that every payment must be traced and that individuals who paid money should be protected and considered for refunds where appropriate.
It has called for applicants to be encouraged to cooperate with investigators without fear of intimidation.
The opposition also wants a public account of any money recovered and the action taken against those found responsible for collecting or retaining funds unlawfully.
