A year ago
Stop Issuing Ghanaian Passports to Non-Citizens Via Door-to-Door Services - Eric Okyei Baffour To The Ghana Embassy In Italy.
Eric Okyei Baffour, a member of the government communications team, has asked Ghana's foreign affairs authorities in Italy to stop issuing Ghanaian passports to people, particularly Nigerians, who he claims are giving Ghana a bad name abroad.
In an interview with Accra-based Atinka TV, he revealed that some civil servants at Ghana's embassy in Italy allegedly accept bribes in order to illegally issue passports to Nigerians.
According to him, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must investigate such crimes and prosecute those who are involved in them.
"I just returned from Italy two weeks ago, and there are so many criminal activities going on at Ghana's Embassy in Rome, Italy, where officials take bribes to issue Ghanaian passports to people who are not Ghanaians, the majority of whom are Nigerians who get involved in criminal activities using Ghana's passport."
"I have petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year, and I have been told there is a cartel around the civil servants at Ghana's embassy in Rome and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ghana. They recently launched a program in Italy that will provide door-to-door service in issuing Ghanaian passports to Ghanaian citizens in Italy, "It's all part of their criminal plan to solicit money from non-citizens and give them Ghanaian passports in exchange," he said.
He emphasized that the door-to-door services for passports cause havoc at various registration centers because the money collected from the door-to-door services registration does not go through the electronic system but instead goes into the pockets of some individuals working at Ghana's embassy in Italy.
It follows widespread social media reports that some foreign nationals living in Italy and other Gulf countries have Ghanaian passports. He also stated that the Italian government is currently unable to authenticate birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other legal documents from Ghana due to the involvement of foreign nationals.
Eric Okyei Baffour has charged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with conducting proper investigations into the alleged allegation and taking appropriate action to address the situation.
He called on Ghana's embassy in Rome to stop engaging in activities that jeopardize the integrity of the Ghanaian passport.
Eric Okyei Baffour urged the Ghanaian government to put a stop to such acts because Ghanaians risk losing their international reputation. They will label us as frustrators, as some Nigerians have. "Italians know Ghanaians work hard," he said.
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