Sports Minister, GTA CEO must step aside over World Cup visa scandal – NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the immediate removal or resignation of the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Maame Efua Houadjeto, over the ongoing World Cup visa scandal.

The party argues that both officials must step aside to allow an independent investigation into alleged irregularities involving visa applications for Ghanaians seeking to travel to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The NPP’s National Communications Director, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, made the demand at a press conference on Thursday, October 15.

He stated that the suspension of the National Sports Authority (NSA) Director-General, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, should not end the accountability process.

“The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Hon. Kofi Iddie Adams, must step aside or be relieved of his post immediately, applying to himself the very principle he says he recommended for the NSA Director-General,” Miracles Aboagye said.

The controversy centres on allegations that some individuals seeking visas to travel for the tournament were presented to the United States and Canadian embassies as staff or officials of public institutions, despite not being genuine employees.

According to documents cited by the NPP Minority in Parliament, the arrangements involved the NSA, the GTA, the Sports and Recreation Ministry and private event company TRIBE Culture Fest.

The Minority has alleged that some applicants paid between US$8,000 and US$14,000 for visa-related assistance, with more than US$600,000 reportedly collected under the arrangements.

President John Dramani Mahama directed Mr Ampofo Ankrah to step aside on October 1 pending a police investigation.

Meanwhile, the former NSA boss has disputed allegations of wrongdoing and has, through his lawyers, maintained that he did not collect money from applicants to secure visas.

The Sports and Recreation Ministry has also denied wrongdoing, stating that forwarding a list of prospective travellers for technical review did not amount to endorsing their eligibility or guaranteeing visa approval.

It has said it is prepared to cooperate with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as investigations continue.