The Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has defended the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, against attempts to implicate him in the controversy surrounding visa arrangements for Ghanaian travellers to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mr Amoah argued that there was no documentary evidence to establish that the disputed list of prospective travellers originated from the minister, describing attempts to link him to the controversy as an exercise in “fishing”.
“In the absence of any documentary evidence that it originated from the minister, I think that we are going fishing, honestly, and we should not,” he said.
Speaking during an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, October 17, Mr Amoah said Mr Adams had handled the situation more intelligently than previous administrations had managed similar World Cup-related arrangements.
“I think that, in all honesty, this minister has handled this World Cup situation a lot more intelligently than we have seen in the past,” he said.
He cited previous controversies involving Ghanaian football delegations, where concerns were raised about the use of public funds and the provision of accommodation and other necessities for supporters.
Mr Amoah said the arrangements surrounding the current controversy appeared different, noting that individuals had purchased their own match tickets without placing the same financial burden on the state.
He cautioned against concluding that the Sports Minister had failed in his duties simply because Yaw Ampofo-Ankrah, the Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), had been suspended over the controversy.
“I think that we can detach the sentiments or emotions that say, look, once the NSA guy has been suspended, then there’s a presupposition that the minister also didn’t do his work well,” he said.
“If the minister clearly didn’t do his work well, the NSA guy wouldn’t be fired. That is my conclusion,” he added.
Mr Amoah further argued that if Mr Adams had been complicit in the alleged wrongdoing, there would likely have been attempts to protect the former NSA director to prevent the controversy from affecting the government.
He explained that the minister’s account of the established procedures for transmitting the list of prospective travellers to the relevant authorities did not, on its own, establish wrongdoing.
According to Mr Amoah, the process initially involved transmission through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before an arrangement was made for the Sports Ministry to handle the transmission, with the relevant agency forwarding the list to the ministry.
He questioned whether the minister should be held responsible merely because the list passed through his ministry under the established procedure.
“If this is all the crime for which you want to hang the minister, I bet we’ll hang all other ministers in this country,” he said.
Mr Amoah maintained that any attempt to hold Mr Adams responsible should be based on evidence linking him directly to the alleged misconduct, rather than assumptions arising from the dismissal of the NSA director.
Mr Amoah said he would be interested in examining evidence of any misappropriation of public funds allocated for the tournament, particularly if the approximately US$2 million earmarked for the World Cup could not be accounted for.
“If you come to tell me that the minister chopped Ghana money, the monies allocated for the World Cup, two million, cannot be accounted for, I would personally be interested in the mischief,” he said.
The controversy follows allegations that more than US$600,000 was collected from individuals seeking assistance with visa applications and travel arrangements for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
