Josiah
Former Deputy Sports Minister Pius Enam Hadzide says the NPP has reasons to question Sports Minister Kofi Adams and the suspended National Sports Authority (NSA) boss, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, over the 2026 World Cup visa controversy.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, Mr Hadzide said signed letters and admissions from people who paid money for visa assistance provided grounds for the criticism.
“You are having people confessing that they paid money,” he said.
He also pointed to letters that were reportedly sent through the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the embassy.
Mr Hadzide said the documents, which he claimed journalists had obtained, raised questions about the roles played by the officials involved.
“So you see that if somebody is being blamed, either the minister or the NSA, here’s a basis for that blame,” he added.
He also questioned the establishment of a secretariat at the NSA and the appointment of a person to a position he said was not part of the authority’s official structure.
Mr Hadzide said it was important to establish who was responsible for each part of the process.
The controversy followed reports that more than $623,000 had been collected from people seeking visa assistance to travel to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Some applicants claimed they received neither visas nor interview appointments.
The NSA’s Chief Operations Officer, Nana Gyamfi Awere, admitted receiving money from applicants and later filed a petition alleging that other individuals had also received payments.
Mr Ankrah was suspended on October 1 pending investigations. His lawyer has denied that he received money to help applicants obtain visas.
The Sports Ministry has also denied wrongdoing, explaining that it only forwarded a request from the NSA through the proper channels. It maintains that there is no public evidence that Sports Minister Kofi Adams collected money or received commissions.
Mr Hadzide also used the discussion to call for a fresh look at the 2018 Australia visa scandal, which led to his suspension under former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The controversy involved allegations that some Ghanaians had posed as journalists to travel to Australia for the Commonwealth Games.
Mr Hadzide said he was blamed for the incident despite what he believes was a lack of sufficient grounds against him.
“Unfortunately, in my own case, I didn’t find the basis, but I carried the cross,” he said.
He questioned why no one had come forward to identify the people they allegedly paid to facilitate their travel to Australia.
“We are yet to get [such person],” he added.
Mr Hadzide said the current World Cup visa controversy should encourage authorities to revisit the 2018 case and clarify what happened.
“So for me, there should be clarity now on the 2018 so-called Australia visa scandal,” he said.
Former President Akufo-Addo later announced that Mr Hadzide had been cleared, and he was reinstated in July 2018.
