NPP petitions US to suspend privileges for Ghanaian diplomatic, service passport holders

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the United States to review its treatment of Ghanaian diplomatic and service passport holders following allegations that some travel documents were secured using false or inaccurate official designations.

The party has identified six individuals whose service passport applications were approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Fisheries Commission, but whom it claims do not hold the positions stated in the approval documents.

In a petition dated October 30, 2026, and signed by General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong, the NPP asked the US Chargé d’Affaires in Ghana, Rolf Olson, to suspend diplomatic courtesies for the individuals concerned and introduce stricter checks on Ghanaian diplomatic and service passport holders.

The party cited two Ministry of Foreign Affairs letters issued on August 6 and 7, 2026. The first approved service passports for Twumasi Francis Kwame, Shaibu Alhassan Abu and Gyabaah Anthony, described respectively as Deputy Director of Climate Change, Director of Hydro and Director of Geology at NADMO.

However, the NPP claimed that those positions were occupied by Ebenezer Vandyke, Dr Bertha Kusimi and Bright Atama respectively, raising questions about the accuracy of the designations used to secure the approvals.

The second letter covered Issah Ayisha, Bennor Yussif and Adom Emmanuel Kwabena as officials of the Fisheries Commission.

The party alleged that the designation Deputy Director of Aquaculture Specialist did not exist, the Deputy Director of Information Technology position was held by another officer, and the Commission had no Assistant Finance Manager position.

The NPP argued that the alleged discrepancies undermined the basis for issuing the passports, which the Ministry's letters indicated were strictly for official use. “A passport cannot be for official use where its bearer holds no office that calls for official travel,” the party stated.

It further described the approvals as irregular, arguing that they “rest on a misdescription of the applicants’ positions, and the passports issued on them are irregular.”

Beyond the six cases, the party wants the US Mission to introduce enhanced verification for Ghanaian diplomatic and service passports issued from January 7, 2025.

It says the process should include direct confirmation of passport holders’ positions with the institutions they are alleged to represent.

The NPP has also urged the government to suspend passports issued to ineligible persons, publish a full list of diplomatic and service passports issued since January 2025, and commission an independent audit of the issuance process.

It wants the Auditor-General or another independent body to conduct the exercise and make its findings public.

The party is further demanding the revocation and recovery of passports found to have been issued irregularly, as well as investigations and possible prosecution of anyone found culpable.

It said the petition was intended to protect Ghana’s national interest rather than inconvenience officials travelling on legitimate state business.

The NPP also referred to recent drug seizures linked to consignments from Ghana and romance fraud cases prosecuted abroad, which it said had contributed to international embarrassment for the country.