‘Hajj Passports’ Sold To Foreigners!

Information reaching this paper indicates that Alhaji Abdul Malik Gariba, the man who has been entrusted as the Officer in charge of all passport applications and to approve and sign passports for only Hajj applicants, has teamed up with the Hajj Co-ordinator, and Manager of Ansarr Tours, Salihu Baba Ibrahim, and are approving passports for foreigners at a fee.

According to very reliable sources, Alhaji Abdul Malik Gariba, whose terms of engagement is to see to it that all Ghanaian applications are given passports for the Holy trip to Mecca is hugely lining his pocket from the venture, by preparing and approving passport application forms for the applicants, most of whom were foreigners. This paper has gathered that, after preparing the passport forms for the applicants, Alhaji Abdul Malik Gariba forwards the forms to Salihu Baba Ibrahim, the Hajj Co-ordinator who endorses all the forms even though they fully aware that most of the applicants are non-Ghanaians.

A clear indication of the sad illegality is a passport application form for Iddrissu Sahabi Alhassan, which was endorsed by the Hajj Co-ordinator, but after vetting by the National Security and theImmigration Service, it was established that the applicant Iddrissu Sahabi Alhassan, could not speak any of the Ghanaian languages. The officials who did the vetting wrote "Can't speak any language," on his application form, indicating clearly that he is not a Ghanaian as indicated by the Hajj Co-ordinator and Alhaji Abdul Malik Gariba.

Speculations are also ripe that the two, Alhaji Abdul Malik Gariba and Salihu Baba Ibrahim, in ensuring that these non-Ghanaians have access to the Ghanaian passport as they processed them through the Hajj system, succeeded in acquiring Birth Certificates for the illegal applicants just to meet the requirements for accessing the passports.

This, paper can confirm that birth certificates prepared for the applicants were done the same day. The Hajj Coordinator, this paper learnt, admitted the offense and subsequently agreed to bring the remaining ones who as at that time had finished taken their pictures. The paper gathered that the coordinator was later taken to the police headquarters for further investigations.

This attitude by the officials is riding emotions high at the passport office with some distraught officials suggesting that the Director of passport Mr. E.Odoi - Anim should be sacked including together with the two. Meanwhile, when this paper contacted Salihu Baba Ibrahim, the Hajj Co-ordinator, he said he was in a family meeting and can only comment on the issue on today. Stay Tuned for his side of the story.

Source: The New Crusading Guide