Passport controversy: NPP’s calls to blame Foreign Affairs Minister lack merit – Presidential aide

Presidential aide, Dr Samuel Ayeh, has dismissed calls by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Minority in Parliament to blame the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over alleged irregularities in the issuance of 10 Service Passports, describing the criticism as lacking merit. Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, November 9, he said that the Minister had the legal discretion to issue diplomatic and service passports to individuals he considered deserving.

Dr Ayeh dismissed suggestions that the Foreign Affairs Minister was culpable, citing Section 7 of the Travel and Passport Certificate Law, which he said gives the Minister discretion to issue diplomatic or service passports to persons he deems fit. “The argument that the Foreign Affairs Minister is evil doesn’t make sense because if you read the Travel and Passport Certificate Law, Section 7 clearly makes it unambiguous that the Foreign Affairs Minister actually had the discretion to issue any diplomatic or service passport to anybody that he deems fit,” he said.

His comments follow a disclosure by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that preliminary investigations had identified 10 Service Passports allegedly issued irregularly 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 since been interdicted and referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

The Presidential Aide questioned why the Minister would need to rely on officials at the Passport Office or the Chief Director to facilitate the issuance of passports if he already had such discretionary powers. “So you see, the argument does not make sense. There is poverty of thought. It is one of those shenanigans that the NPP and the Minority put in place to lie and defame, smear the government so that the government will look bad in the eyes,” he added.

Dr Ayeh maintained that the criticism against the Minister was misplaced, describing it as an attempt by the opposition to damage the government’s image. The Minority has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, while the Majority has maintained that the Ministry’s committee should be allowed to complete its work. The investigations are ongoing.