Passport scandal suspect admits forging signature to secure Service Passports – Samuel Ayeh

A presidential aide, Dr Samuel Ayeh, says a suspect in the alleged passport irregularities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confessed to forging the signature of a former Chief Director to secure Service Passports.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disclosed that preliminary investigations identified 10 Service Passports allegedly issued irregularly to individuals who did not qualify for them since 2023.

The Ministry said the suspected irregularities involved alleged illegal payments to a syndicate.

The Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and Alhassan Sumani have been interdicted and referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Dr Ayeh identified the suspect as Wale and said he had admitted to the alleged forgery before the committee investigating the matter.

He said the committee had an audio recording of the confession and that its report was expected to be published next week.

"I can assure you, and this is on authority, I'm telling you that one of the people involved, he's called Wale, has actually confessed. There is an audio recording of it. And the report will be published next week. He has confessed to the committee that they actually forged the signature of the Chief Director at the time to secure the service passports," he said.

Dr Ayeh said the suspect admitted to practising the forgery several times to ensure that the signatures appeared authentic.

According to him, the suspect also described how letterheads were obtained and used in the alleged scheme.

"He said that he practised it several times to make sure that it happened. And he said that they got the letterhead of the Chief Director and all the people involved in this whole activity. He made sure that Sumani Alhassan was the one in charge of making sure that they got the letterhead so that they could forge the signatures and issue it to the passport office to get it," he said.

Dr Ayeh's account places Alhassan Sumani at the centre of the alleged process of obtaining the letterheads used in the forgery.

The presidential aide also defended the Minister’s handling of the matter, saying Mr Ablakwa acted promptly after receiving a petition on October 8, 2026.

He said a committee was constituted the following day, October 9, and began hearing from witnesses by October 13.

Dr Ayeh said the committee’s report would be made public next week.

The investigation followed a petition submitted by Augustine Anare Amuah on October 8, 2026, concerning an arrangement with Alhassan Sumani to secure a Service Passport in 2023, which Mr Amuah said had not been fulfilled.

The Minority has called for a parliamentary inquiry, while the Majority has maintained that the Ministry’s investigative committee should be allowed to complete its work.

The committee’s report is expected to provide further details about the alleged scheme. The claims of a confession and the alleged roles of individuals involved remain subject to verification and the ongoing investigations.