By Amoako Kwame
The Majority in Parliament has accused the previous Akufo-Addo administration of creating conditions that enabled an alleged service passport racketeering scheme at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insisting that the practice dates back to 2023.
The Majority claims the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) government recruited Alhassan Sumani, described as a former “goro boy”, into the Ministry shortly before leaving office in December 2024, allegedly in an apparent move to maintain his involvement in the irregular issuance of service passports.
Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Cletus Dapilah, made the allegations in an interview with Citi News, accusing the former administration of establishing a network that facilitated the alleged passport irregularities.
He stated that Mr Sumani was recruited on November 29, 2024, barely weeks before the change of government, arguing that the timing of the appointment raised questions about the former administration’s intentions.
“The NPP is funny. They are funny because you formed a cabal under your watch to perpetuate passport racketeering. Way back in your regime, you had that Alhassan Sumani guy as a goro boy working within Ministry staff…When they were exiting power, they recruited the guy,” he said.
His comments follow revelations by the Foreign Affairs Ministry that preliminary investigations have uncovered 10 service passports allegedly issued irregularly to individuals who did not meet the requirements for obtaining them.
According to the Ministry, the passports were issued between January 2023 and August 2026 through an alleged network operating within the passport administration system.
It would be recalled that in January 2025 when the NDC took office, they sought to right the wrongs in Ghana’s Diplomatic Passport System and issued directives for a recall of Diplomatic Passports.
The investigation was triggered by two petitions received by the Ministry. One petitioner reportedly alleged paying US$29,000 in 2023 to secure a service passport, while another claimed to have paid US$5,000 in 2026.
Following the receipt of the first petition on October 8, 2026, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa directed the establishment of an investigative committee on October 13 to examine the allegations.
Mr Dapilah also called on the Minority Caucus to approach the matter with responsibility and avoid turning the ongoing investigations into a political contest.
As part of efforts to establish the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commenced investigations, resulting in the interdiction of the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and Foreign Service Officer Alhassan Sumani.
Both officials have also been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.
However, the Ministry has sought to distinguish between allegations surrounding service passports and claims of diplomatic passport sales.
It has clarified that its preliminary investigations are focused on the alleged irregular issuance of service passports, stressing that no evidence has so far been established to support claims that Ghanaian diplomatic passports were being sold.
The Ministry has so far identified 10 service passports suspected to have been irregularly issued and subsequently cancelled all of them.
Meanwhile, Mr Dapilah has dismissed the Minority’s demand for an ad hoc parliamentary committee to probe the allegations, maintaining that the investigative committee constituted by the Ministry has the necessary mandate and capacity to establish the facts.
His position is in sharp contrast with that off the Minority, and is likely to become the sore spot upon which a disagreement between the Majority and Minority might hinge over the appropriate mechanism for investigating the alleged passport irregularities.
Meanwhile he Ministry’s probe and police investigations continue.
