NPP asks US to suspend Ghanaian diplomatic, service passports issued since January 2025

The New Patriotic Party has asked the United States Embassy in Accra to suspend 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 the offices on which their issuance was based.

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2. Exhibit B: Ministry letter Ref. SCR.PA/I(S) dated 7 August 2026 (Fisheries Commission) No. Name on Ministry letter Position stated in letter Actual position holder / finding i. Issah Ayisha Deputy Director, Aquaculture Specialist No Deputy Director position exists. The Director position is held by Mr. Gideon Boakye ii. Bennor Yussif Deputy Director, Information Technology Held by Mr. Robert Ampadu iii. Adom Emmanuel Kwabena "Assistance Finance Manager" (as stated) No such position exists at the Commission The officers who actually hold these positions, namely Mr. Ebenezer Vandyke, Dr. Bertha Kusimi and Mr. Bright Atama of NADMO, and Mr. Gideon Boakye and Mr. Robert Ampadu of the Fisheries Commission, do not appear on the Ministry's lists. Photographs of these officers are attached as Exhibit C, so that Your Excellency's Mission may compare them against any person who presents a passport issued under Exhibits A and B. Both letters state that the service passports are for official use only (Exhibits A and B). A passport cannot be for official use where its bearer holds no office that calls for official travel. 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. These six cases are not isolated. The NPP has reason to believe that many other persons have been issued diplomatic and service passports in the same manner, on the strength of positions they do not hold or positions that do not exist, and that they are not captured in this letter. The NPP will bring further cases to the attention of the Missions as they are confirmed. These matters come against the backdrop of recent incidents that have caused Ghana considerable international embarrassment, including but not limited to the seizure by French customs at the Port of Dunkirk, on 10 September 2026, of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, estimated at about €225 million, concealed in a container of plastic waste shipped from Ghana; the interception by the Ghana Police Service in August 2026 of 866 parcels of suspected cocaine, concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse in the Tema Port enclave; and a series of romance fraud cases prosecuted abroad, in which Ghanaian nationals have been indicted for defrauding elderly victims of millions of dollars. A diplomatic or service passport is a declaration by the Republic of Ghana that its bearer travels on the business of the State and merits the courtesies that status affords. Where such documents are issued to persons who hold no qualifying office, that declaration can no longer be relied upon. The risk extends beyond Ghana's reputation to the border security of every country that honours these documents. The NPP has a duty, as the main opposition party, to hold the Government to account on behalf of the people of Ghana. To date, the Government has not offered a transparent account of the diplomatic and service passports it has issued since assuming office in January 2025.
3. In view of the foregoing, the NPP respectfully requests that your Mission: • Suspend the grant of visas, visa waivers and diplomatic or official courtesies to holders of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports issued to persons who do not hold the official positions that entitle them to such passports, including the six persons named in Exhibits A and B, pending the conclusion of the process set out below; • Subject applications presented on any Ghanaian diplomatic or service passport issued on or after 7 January 2025 to enhanced verification directly with the competent Ghanaian authorities, including confirmation of the holder's office with the institution that employs them; and • Share with the relevant authorities of your government any information that may assist in establishing whether such passports have been misused. The NPP simultaneously calls on the Government of the Republic of Ghana to: • Suspend, with immediate effect, all diplomatic and service passports issued to persons who do not hold the official positions on which their issuance was based, including those approved under Exhibits A and B; • Publish a full list of all diplomatic and service passports issued since January 2025, showing the holder, the office held, the category of passport and the eligibility basis for each issuance; • Commission an independent and thorough audit of the issuance process, led by the Auditor-General or another body independent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and make its findings public; • Revoke and recover any passport found to have been issued irregularly, and refer any person implicated in wrongdoing for investigation and prosecution; and • Notify all accredited Missions in writing once the audit is complete, so that normal services may be restored with confidence. 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 New Patriotic Party avails itself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excellency the assurances of its highest consideration. Yours faithfully, Justin Frimpong Kodua General Secretary New Patriotic Party cc: • • • H.E. the President of the Republic of Ghana The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament The Minister for Foreign Affairs
4. • • • • • The Minister for the Interior The Auditor-General The Chairman, Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs The Comptroller-General, Ghana Immigration Service The Media EXHIBITS Exhibit A: Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Director, Passport Office, Accra, titled "Application for the Issuance of Service Passports", Ref. SCR.PA/L(S), dated 6 August 2026, signed for the Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Chief Director, approving service passports for Twumasi Francis Kwame, Shaibu Alhassan Abu and Gyabaah Anthony as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO). Exhibit B: Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Director, Passport Office, Accra, titled "Application for the Issuance of Service Passports", Ref. SCR.PA/I(S), dated 7 August 2026, signed for the Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Chief Director, approving service passports for Issah Ayisha, Bennor Yussif and Adom Emmanuel Kwabena as officials of the Fisheries Commission.