By James Amoh Junior, GNA
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has interdicted two senior officials and referred them to the Ghana Police Service for investigation over an alleged scheme involving the illegal issuance of Service Passports in exchange for money.
The interdicted officials are Mr Mahama Yahaya Amantana, Acting Director of Passports, and Mr Alhassan Sumani, a junior Foreign Service Officer (FSO A5), who were named in petitions concerning the alleged scheme.
A statement issued in Accra on Sunday said preliminary investigations had established that some individuals who were not eligible for Service Passports had obtained the documents through illegal payments to a syndicate operating within the passport administration system.
The action followed two petitions alleging that US$29,000 was paid in 2023 and US$5,000 in 2026 to persons involved in the operation.
The statement said the first petition was received on October 8, 2026, prompting the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to constitute an investigative committee on October 13.
Mr Sumani was alleged to have been the chief architect of the scheme and operated as a middleman before joining the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024, the statement said.
It said investigations had identified 10 Service Passports issued irregularly between January 2023 and August 2026.
The documents, issued to four individuals in 2023 and six in 2026, had all been cancelled and could no longer be used.
The statement said international partners had been notified of the cancellations, while efforts were underway to pursue the holders, including two persons who had used the documents to travel in 2023.
It added that Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, a retired former Director of Passports, who served during the period when some of the alleged irregularities occurred, would also be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable.
The development comes five days after the youth wing of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) staged a demonstration in Accra dubbed: “Yɛgye Yɛn Sika”, demanding accountability over alleged irregularities in passport issuance and the management of public funds.
The protesters, led by the party’s National Youth Organiser, Mr Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, called for the removal of Mr Ablakwa as Minister, an independent audit and disclosure of Diplomatic and Service Passports issued since January 2025, as well as investigations into officials implicated in the alleged irregularities.
The Ministry described the alleged operation as a sophisticated scheme that predated the current administration, stressing that there was, so far, no evidence of the sale of Ghanaian Diplomatic Passports.
It clarified that the investigation concerned Service Passports and urged the public not to conflate the two categories.
The Ministry also outlined reforms introduced since 2025 to strengthen passport administration, including the introduction of chip-embedded passports, the establishment of application centres in all 16 regions, 24-hour operations, free courier delivery and electronic tracking.
It said the Government had also reduced the passport application fee from GH₵500 to GH₵350 despite investments in security and technology.
The Ministry further disclosed that 1,397 Service Passports were issued between 2009 and 2016, compared with 3,174 between 2017 and 2024, and 754 from 2025 to date.
For Diplomatic Passports, 2,899 were issued between 2009 and 2016, 5,682 between 2017 and 2024, and 1,944 from 2025 to date.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing the investigations and ensuring that persons found culpable were brought to justice.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: James Amoh Junior
Email: [email protected]