Close to 300 unqualified persons including drug traffickers hold diplomatic and service passports — NPP alleges

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has challenged the government to disclose details of all diplomatic and service passports issued since 2025, following allegations that nearly 300 individuals who do not qualify for the documents have obtained them.

The party is demanding the publication of the beneficiaries’ identities or official positions, the criteria used to approve their applications and the authorities responsible for authorising the issuance of the passports.

According to the NPP, the alleged widespread distribution of diplomatic and service passports to unqualified individuals raises concerns about the abuse of Ghana’s passport privileges and the possibility of such documents being exploited for illicit activities, including international drug trafficking.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the party’s Second Vice Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, claimed that close to 300 people who did not meet the requirements had been issued diplomatic or service passports.

He warned that criminal networks could exploit travel documents to facilitate their activities across international borders.

“On this issue of diplomatic and service passports, drug cartels do not move only through ports, they move through documents. As our party demanded on the streets of Accra yesterday [November 4], the government must publish every diplomatic and service passport issued since 2025, with the position that qualified each holder and the authority that approved it.

“We have evidence that close to about 300 people do not qualify to hold service or diplomatic passports. Is it the case why we have these alarming cases of illicit and cocaine matters?” he said.

The NPP is insisting that the government provide full disclosure to address concerns surrounding the issuance of the passports and establish whether the documents have been granted in accordance with the relevant requirements.