Minority alleges 300 Ghanaians travelled on bought special passports, files motion for probe

Listen to this articleAI narrationPlayback position0:004:061010Playback speed1×About 300 Ghanaians have travelled to Europe and elsewhere on diplomatic and service passports they paid for, the Minority in Parliament alleges. It says it will file a motion on Monday for a bipartisan probe.

At a press conference in Parliament on Sunday, the Minority's lead on foreign affairs, Samuel Abu Jinapor, alleged that officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office operated a travel-and-tour network that issued special passports to unqualified paying clients.

Hours earlier, the Foreign Affairs Ministry cancelled 10 illegally issued Service Passports and referred two interdicted officers to the police, stating that its probe covers a service-passport scheme dating back to 2023 and that there is no evidence Diplomatic Passports are being sold.

"As at now, our sources indicate that some 300 Ghanaians have travelled to Europe and other destinations using diplomatic and service passports allegedly issued through this arrangement," Jinapor said.

The Damongo MP was ejected from the chamber on Tuesday, November 3, after alleging that diplomatic passports were being sold for between US$10,000 and US$50,000.

Following the caucus's earlier pledge to table documentary evidence, Jinapor presented redacted passport biodata pages, approval letters, two GCB Bank deposit slips dated June 15 and June 24, 2026, and mobile money records.

The Minority named a man it says ran the operation in Ghana and an agent in Europe who allegedly collected payments on behalf of Ministry and Passport Office officials.

"These are only some of the payment records we have obtained. The persons who provided them say these were payments made for the diplomatic and service passports and the promised travel arrangements," Jinapor stated.

Jinapor displayed letters purportedly signed on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa approving passports for applicants given false official designations at public bodies, including the Ghana TVET Service, the Fisheries Commission and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

He cited a letter dated June 1, 2026, describing one applicant as Deputy Director of Audit Services at the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, and another three days later giving the same person the title of Deputy District Coordinating Director at the Akrofuom District Assembly.

He further alleged that Ministry staff assisted beneficiaries through the airport to bypass Ghana Immigration Service checks. The claims have not been independently verified, and none of the people the Minority named has been charged.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin earlier defended Jinapor's parliamentary remarks, arguing that MPs must scrutinise state travel documents.

Jinapor noted that diplomatic passports grant visa-free entry to 62 countries and service passports to 59 countries, with only Hong Kong, Qatar and Turkey differentiating between them.

"It is easier to see why these benefits will appeal to someone seeking to travel abroad but these passports are supposed to be issued for official purposes. They are not privileges to be sold to anyone willing to pay," he said.

Under the motion to be filed on Monday, November 9, under Article 103 of the Constitution, an ad hoc committee would review all diplomatic and service passport approvals from January 7, 2025, to the date of adoption.

Although Majority Leader James Agalga named Acting Passport Director Yahaya Amantana Mahama on Friday as interdicted alongside an internal probe, Jinapor argued the Ministry cannot investigate itself.

"More importantly, the very people who superintended this rot cannot be the same persons to investigate it. This matter requires an independent and impartial investigation," he said, urging the committee to summon the Minister and the interdicted Passport Director under oath.