The Minority in Parliament has filed a motion seeking an independent parliamentary investigation into allegations of illegal payments and irregular issuance of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports, claiming to have uncovered evidence of a syndicate operating within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, said the Minority had obtained documents suggesting that unqualified individuals were allegedly issued the special travel documents after making payments to officials and intermediaries.
The press conference came hours after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the interdiction of its Acting Director of Passports and a junior officer over the alleged passport scandal.
According to Mr Jinapor, the alleged scheme involved officials of the Ministry and the Passport Office operating a travel and tour business that facilitated overseas travel, particularly to Europe, for paying customers using diplomatic and service passports.
He alleged that some applicants were assigned false official positions and designations at public institutions to make them appear eligible for the passports.
Mr Jinapor presented letters purportedly signed on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, approving passport applications for individuals described as officials of various public institutions.
He claimed that Minority checks suggested some of the applicants did not work at the institutions listed, while certain positions attributed to them did not exist.
Citing one example, he referred to two letters dated June 1 and June 4, 2026, which allegedly identified a person named Amoh Boadi as Deputy Director of Audit Services at the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and, in another document, as Deputy District Coordinating Director of the Akrofuom District Assembly.
“Do these entries refer to the same person? If so, how did the same name come to be presented under two different official positions at two different institutions for the purpose of obtaining these passports?” he questioned.
The Minority also presented receipts of cash deposits and mobile money transfers allegedly made to an agent identified as Bright Yeboah Owusu, whom Mr Jinapor claimed received payments on behalf of officials involved in the arrangement.
He further alleged that some Ministry personnel helped beneficiaries pass through the airport without scrutiny by Ghana Immigration Service officers. He claimed that approximately 300 Ghanaians had travelled to Europe using passports issued through the alleged arrangement.
The motion, which the Minority said would be filed on Monday morning, seeks to establish a Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee to examine all approvals and issuances of diplomatic and service passports from January 7, 2025, to the date the motion is adopted.
Mr Jinapor argued that the Ministry’s decision to establish an internal investigative committee should not prevent Parliament from exercising its oversight responsibilities.
“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 stated.
The proposed committee is expected to examine passport applications, institutional recommendations, approval letters, issuance records and electronic records to establish who processed and authorised the documents.
The Minority has appealed to the Majority to support the motion, arguing that backing a parliamentary inquiry does not amount to accepting the allegations as proven.
“The authority of the Republic must never become a private means of making money, and we will not allow these serious questions to go unanswered,” Mr Jinapor said.
The allegations have intensified calls for accountability and transparency in the issuance of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports, as investigations into the matter continue.
