The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Asuogyaman, Pius Hadzide, has clarified that he is not a consulate officer to grant travel visas to persons intending to go watch the 2026 World Cup.
The National Youth Authority’s CEO promised the constituents of Asuogyaman, urging them to vote for him if they want their children to travel to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, which he said will allow them to work and bring home money.
Pius’ promise was quickly linked to a controversial 2017 visa scandal he got embroiled in as Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, where several Ghanaian nationals allegedly posed as journalists to obtain visas and travel to the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Clarifying what he meant in the engagement with his constituents on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Pius said he is not a consulate officer to grant travel visas.
“I am not a consulate officer and I am talking about facilitating the upward mobility of our people. I have met constituents of mine who want to go and watch the World Cup.
“I have met constituents of mine who want to go and study, and some of them have skill sets and want to go outside of the country to go and work and I am saying that, as a Member of Parliament, I see myself both as a legislator and as an agent of development.
“And so I met with a cross-section of my people and I said that I know how to help people achieve their dreams and vision and one of those dreams and visions is for people to expand their horizons, get new insights and experiences and probably also watch the World Cup and so I made a promise from the bottom of my heart to help facilitate [my constituents to travel] and I don’t know where the visa part is coming from. I never spoke about visas because it is only consulate officers who can grant visas.”
Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!
Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x
No spams, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital
