The opposition New Patriotic Party has questioned the status of six individuals, whom the party alleges have been issued with diplomatic and services passports by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs even though they are persons who do not hold the offices on which their issuance was based.
The NPP has therefore writtin to the United States Embassy in Accra asking that the Embassy suspends recognition of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports issued since January 2025, pending full disclosure and an independent audit, over allegations that they were issued to persons who do not hold any official positions on behalf of the state.
In a letter dated October 30 and signed by NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, the NPP requested that the Mission suspend the grant of visas, visa waivers, and diplomatic or official recognition to holders of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports issued to persons who do not hold the qualifying positions.
The party cited two letters from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed for the Minister by the Chief Director, approving service passports for six persons described as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Fisheries Commission.
According to the NPP, information available to it indicates that none of the six persons hold the position attributed to them in those letters, and in two cases, the positions stated do not exist at all. The party named Twumasi Francis Kwame, Shaibu Alhassan Abu, Gyabah Anthony, Issah Ayisha, Bennor Yussif, and Adom Emmanuel Kwabena as the beneficiaries of the approvals.
The NPP stated that the officers who actually hold the positions listed do not appear on the Ministry's lists, and attached photographs of the actual officers so the Embassy may compare them against any person presenting a passport issued under the letters.
"On the face of the Ministry's own correspondence, these approvals rest on a misdescription of the applicants' positions, and the passports issued on them are irregular," the letter stated.
The party said it has reason to believe that many other persons have been issued diplomatic and service passports in the same manner and will bring further cases to the attention of Missions as they are confirmed.
The NPP referenced recent incidents it said have caused Ghana international embarrassment, including the seizure by French customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container of plastic waste shipped from Ghana, and a series of romance fraud cases prosecuted abroad.
It requested that applications on any Ghanaian diplomatic or service passport issued on or after 7 January 2025 be subject to enhanced verification directly with the competent Ghanaian authorities, including confirmation of the holder's office with the institution that employs them.
The party also called on the Government of Ghana to suspend all diplomatic and service passports issued to persons who do not hold the qualifying offices, publish a full list of all such passports issued since January 2025, and commission an independent audit led by the Auditor-General.
"The NPP makes this request with regret and in the national interest. It is not our wish to inconvenience genuine officials of the State travelling on legitimate business, and we believe that a prompt and transparent audit will allow normal courtesies to resume quickly," the letter stated.
