NPP Demands Sports Minister’s Resignation Over World Cup Visa Scandal
Story By: Deborah Adorsu
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has renewed its demand for the immediate resignation of the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams over the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup visa controversy.
Speaking at a press conference at the NPP headquarters, Asylum Down on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the party’s National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu said the resignation of the National Sports Authority Chief Executive, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah is not enough to address the scandal.
The controversy centres on allegations that more than US$600,000 was collected from Ghanaians seeking visas to travel to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
According to a 49-page dossier cited by the NPP’s Ranking Member on Youth and Sports, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the National Sports Authority allegedly signed a supplementary agreement with a private company, TRIBE Culture Fest on January 19, 2026, to pay the company US$3,000 per applicant for US visa processing and US$2,000 for Canadian visas, regardless of success.
The NPP alleges that applicants were then charged between US$8,000 and US$14,000 each, with some individuals falsely presented to the US and Canadian embassies as staff of public institutions using official government correspondence.
The party’s National Communications Director, Dennis Miracles Aboagye earlier argued that the scandal extends beyond the NSA to include the Ministry of Sports and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), whose letters allegedly supported the questionable applications.
The party is demanding that Sports Minister Kofi Adams and GTA CEO Maame Efua Houadjeto step aside to allow an independent probe by the CID, Office of the Special Prosecutor and EOCO to trace all payments.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama had on October 1, directed the NSA Director-General to step aside pending police investigations.
The demand for the Sports Minister’s resignation is part of a broader accountability push, with the NPP also announcing a nationwide “Yɛgye yɛ Sika” (Our Money) demonstration on November 3 to demand the dismissal of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over evacuation and passport controversies.