…As Ministry Officer Accused of Selling Service Passports Was Once a ‘Goro Boy’
Fresh details have emerged about the Service Passport-for-sale scandal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, with sources alleging that Alhassan Sumani, also known as Samini, the junior Foreign Service officer identified as the alleged mastermind of the scheme, was recruited into the Ministry by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration as a reward for his role in an entrenched passport racketeering network.
Highly placed sources told The New Republic that Sumani’s appointment to the Foreign Service was not based on merit but was allegedly orchestrated by a group of insiders within the Ministry to reward him for years of facilitating illegal passport acquisitions and generating substantial illicit proceeds for members of the syndicate.
Before his recruitment, Sumani allegedly operated as a “goro boy”—a colloquial term used in Ghana to describe an unauthorised middleman who illegally arranges passports and other public services for clients willing to pay bribes.
According to sources, during the Akufo-Addo administration, senior officials within the Ministry allegedly relied on Sumani and other operatives to source clients seeking passports through unofficial channels, sharing in the proceeds generated from the illegal transactions.
Sumani is said to have worked closely with another operative known as Walle, who allegedly helped facilitate the fraudulent processing of passports for ineligible applicants.
Sources claim that as the previous administration prepared to leave office in late 2024, members of the alleged syndicate decided to reward Sumani for his years of service by securing him formal employment at the Ministry.
His appointment reportedly transformed him from an external middleman into an insider with direct access to passport processing systems, placing him in a position that allegedly enabled the syndicate to continue its activities with even greater ease.
Soon after joining the Ministry, Sumani is said to have forged a close working relationship with Mahama Yahaya Amantana, who would later become Acting Director of Passports.
Mr. Amantana himself had earlier been the subject of disciplinary proceedings after contesting a parliamentary seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), contrary to provisions of the Civil Service Act prohibiting civil servants from engaging in partisan politics.
While an internal disciplinary committee recommended his demotion, the Civil Service Council reportedly recommended his dismissal.
However, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) secured a court injunction in September 2024, arguing that Mr. Amantana had been unfairly singled out because another civil servant, Kan-Dapaah Jnr., had similarly declared his parliamentary ambitions without facing comparable sanctions.
As a result, Mr. Amantana remained in active service.
All these developments occurred before Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa assumed office.
Following routine administrative reassignments, Mr. Asante was appointed Director of Passports, with Mr. Amantana serving as his deputy. When Mr. Asante was subsequently posted abroad, Mr. Amantana assumed the role of Acting Director of Passports.
According to sources familiar with the investigations, it was during this period that forged documents were allegedly used to procure Service Passports for persons who did not qualify for them.
The documents, investigators believe, bypassed established procedures and were sent directly to the Acting Director of Passports by members of the syndicate without originating from the Ministry’s official channels.
Sources further allege that Sumani continued operating the scheme alongside Walle, who is said to have admitted forging the signature of the Ministry’s Chief Director to facilitate the illegal issuance of Service Passports.
Although Sumani had become a Foreign Service officer on November 29, 2024, investigators believe the network continued operating until petitions exposing the alleged scheme reached the Ministry.
One petitioner stated:
“I respectfully write to petition your respectable office concerning one Alhassan Sumani, also known as Samini, in respect of his failure to secure Service Passports for me, which he agreed to secure since 2023. I wish to bring this matter to your attention for the necessary investigations and appropriate action.”
The petition became one of the key triggers for investigations that have since unravelled what officials describe as an organised Service Passport racketeering syndicate.
Meanwhile, retired Ghana’s former Ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammed Habib Idris, who served as Director of Passports during the period under investigation, has been named as the man oversaw the Passport Office while the alleged activities were taking place. They further claim he was elevated over several senior officers to become an ambassador despite established promotion procedures.
Immediately the allegations came to the attention of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, he ordered the interdiction of Sumani and Acting Director of Passports Mahama Yahaya Amantana pending investigations.
The Ministry formally announced the interdictions on November 8, 2026, stating that both officials had been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.
According to the Ministry, Sumani was identified in every petition received as the alleged architect of the Service Passport-for-sale scheme.
It said investigations were triggered by two petitions. The first, received on October 8, 2026, alleged that US$29,000 had been paid in 2023 to secure Service Passports for persons who were not entitled to them, while a second petitioner claimed to have paid US$5,000 in 2026 for the same purpose.
Following receipt of the complaints, Minister Ablakwa constituted an investigative committee on October 13, 2026, whose preliminary findings led to Sunday’s interdictions.
The Ministry disclosed that preliminary investigations had identified ten Service Passports issued between January 2023 and August 2026 to persons who did not qualify for them. Those passports have since been cancelled, flagged internationally, and efforts are underway to locate their holders.
The Ministry stressed that the investigations relate exclusively to Service Passports and not Diplomatic Passports, adding that all persons found culpable will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.