Service Passports Row: Who Approved Six Passports on Titles That Don't Match?

Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs faces questions after the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) alleged that six people were issued service passports on the basis of official positions they do not hold. The Daily Guide front page of 2 November 2026 carries the story under the headline "Govt Issues Service Passports To 6 With Fake Titles."

The allegation comes from the NPP, not from a government finding. The party cited two Ministry letters, signed for the Minister by the Chief Director, approving service passports for six persons described as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Fisheries Commission.

The NPP says none of the six holds the position attributed to them, and in two cases the positions stated do not exist at all. In its letter, the party argued that the approvals rest on a misdescription of the applicants' positions, so the passports issued on them are irregular.

The NPP has made three demands. It wants the government to suspend all diplomatic and service passports issued to people who do not hold the qualifying offices, publish a full list of such passports issued since January 2025, and commission an independent audit led by the Auditor-General.

One report says the party also asked the US embassy in Accra on 30 October 2026 to tighten checks on Ghanaian official passports, and that the Foreign Ministry had not publicly answered the claims at the time of writing.

The law is clear on who qualifies. The Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967 (NLCD 155), limits diplomatic and service passports to people actively engaged in official state business. The issue is also not new. Earlier this year, the Ministry revoked the diplomatic and service passports of people no longer in government roles, and 407 diplomatic and 403 service passports were voluntarily returned before the deadline.

Official passports have also been abused before. In an earlier case, five of six Ghanaians arrested in Frankfurt over passport deals carried Ghanaian service passports, and their leader carried a diplomatic passport.

The facts the Ministry must now address are whether the six positions exist and who holds them, who verified the applicants before approval, and whether the passports will be suspended pending an audit. Until the Ministry responds, the claims remain allegations, but they put pressure on the integrity of Ghana's official travel documents.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

References
Graphic Online, "NPP on Ghanaian diplomatic, service passports issued to persons who do not hold official positions on behalf of the state," 31 Oct 2026. graphic.com.gh

The Rio Times, "Ghana Passports Face US Check Over 6 Cases," Nov 2026. riotimesonline.com

Class FM, "Ghana revokes diplomatic and service passports of former officials and non-state actors." classfmonline.com

MyJoyOnline, "Illegal migration racket: 6 Ghanaians arrested in Frankfurt, Accra." myjoyonline.com

Daily Guide, Issue 236/26, 2 Nov 2026, front page (see page 6)