The $50,000 Passport Monster: How NPP built a syndicate, left it in Foreign Affairs, and now wants Ablakwa to carry it

It is rather interesting how, every now and then, the NPP seems determined to find fault with Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, almost at all costs.

Today, I particularly appreciated the submission by Lawyer Brako-Powers. I listened to his contribution with keen interest, particularly his response to one of the allegations levelled against the Honourable Minister, and I found his arguments quite compelling.

“But it appears to me that the NPP is stretching this issue to a ridiculous level. And we must call them out. They are stretching this issue to a ridiculous level.”

“Let me point out that the multitude of allegations doesn't amount to guilt. In the entire conversation, the way the NPP is going about it is as though they've caught someone. And it's as though they've concluded that a crime has been committed. But when you address or you drive this conversation from this mindset or point of view, you lose the entire conversation and you lose the entire Ghanian. Because the Ghanaian is looking for real accountability.”

The man at the centre of this whole storm is Alhasan Sumani. Let's be clear about who he is.

In 2023, he was not an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yet his name reportedly surfaced in a similar scandal. He was what we commonly refer to in Ghana as a “goro boy”, an individual who operates around the Passport Office, allegedly maintaining connections with officials to facilitate certain activities. He was also known to be a TESCON activist at AUCC, with reported links to the NPP. It surprising how the NPP had never mentioned his name all through their allegations. It is important to emphasise that, as at 2023, Mr Yahaya Amantana Mahama was not the Director of the Passport Office.

At the later part of 2024, when the NPP knew they were exiting power, what did they do? They quickly employed him. They regularized their own boy. They planted their seed. Because as one insider put it, "All of them will have to go home so that new people will be employed. The Chief of Staff and the President, being very kind men, decided let's leave everybody. They are all Ghanaians." So this is one of such employees. He knew his masters were leaving, so he secured himself a job before the door closed.

Fast forward to May 2026. A Pastor and his wife report that Alhasan has taken money from them promising them Service Passports. This is not Diplomatic Passport. This is Service Passport. From a reliable source, the Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, asks the Director to produce a report.

And here is where the NPP propaganda collapses:

The Director, Yahaya Amantana Mahama, was not even in Ghana in May when the incident happened. His travel records will show it. How can a man authorize a passport when he is not in the jurisdiction?

Let’s compare Ambassador Kadija's real signature with the forged one being paraded around. The difference is clear. It is fake. Forged on ministry letterhead that Alhasan had access to because NPP gave him access.

The Minister has no hand in it. From a reliable source the Director informed the Minister that there was a similar case in August he was already investigating.

This Director once upon a time has been a victim of NPP vindictiveness. In 2023, just like many other persons, Amantana went for NDC primaries. Because NPP was in power, they wanted to punish him. They wanted to remove him. It took CLOSAG going to court on his behalf to protect him. CLOSAG to court in 2023 - that's documented. A man the NPP tried to victimize for being NDC cannot suddenly be their accomplice in selling passports for $50,000.

Enter Waleed - Travel and Tour. Waleed, the travel and tours operator, has testified against Alhasan. The pastor, the wife, Waleed - all point to one man: Alhasan Sumani.

So what did Minister Ablakwa do when it came to his notice? Did he sleep on it? No. He constituted a committee to investigate the matter. He has said he will come to Parliament himself to present the facts. That is what a responsible Minister does.

But what does NPP do? They shout "$50,000 Diplomatic Passports for sale!" They want to publish all diplomatic passports since 2025. They want to create noise. Why? Because they are desperate to find dirt on Ablakwa at all costs.

Why Ablakwa? Because Ablakwa single-handedly took them on for 8 years. He exposed National Cathedral, he exposed SML, he exposed the former government's thievery. They have never forgiven him. Now they think they have found a stick to beat him with - using their own boy they planted in the Ministry.

This is diversion 101. You create a monster, you leave the monster in the system, and when the monster bites, you shout "Look, the new government is corrupt!"

And let us be honest and blame the NDC itself. We have not learnt any lesson. The President's "father-for-all" game is killing the grassroots. You keep NPP appointees and NPP TESCON boys in sensitive offices like Passports, like Foreign Affairs, and you expect them to be loyal and committed to a positive course? The same people who were doing "protocol" and selling passports under NPP are still there, now sabotaging you from inside. NDC grassroots are still unemployed on the streets while NPP boys are still at post, forging letters with old letterheads.

If you do father-for-all, this is what you gain.

Alhasan Sumani must be investigated, and prosecuted when guilty to the fullest. He is not a mistake; he is a product of a deliberate syndicate that thrived under NPP. He was a goro boy who became a staff through the backdoor. His actions must not be minimized.

And Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa inherited a syndicate. He did not create it. When it came to his attention, he acted. He did not cover it. The Minority calling for a bipartisan committee is duplication. It is the same witnesses - Waleed, the Pastor, Alhasan etc. Wait for the Minister's committee report. Let Parliament interrogate it. But don't throw mud at an innocent Minister because you are embarrassed that your own boy is the centre of the scandal.

At the end of the day, nothing will come out of this smear except embarrassment for the NPP. Because you cannot hang your own monster on another man's neck and expect Ghanaians to believe you.