More Top Akufo-Addo Appointees Picked Up For Questioning By NIB
- Some more Akufo-Addo-era appointees have been picked up for questioning by state security
- The former Executive Director of the National Service Authority, Osei Assibey Antwi, was among the persons of interest
- The Economic and Organised Crime Office also arrested the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, Kwabena Adu Boahene
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A couple more Akufo-Addo appointees have been picked up for questioning by state security.
The former Executive Director of the National Service Authority, Osei Assibey Antwi, was questioned by the National Investigations Bureau in the probe into the NSS ghost names scandal.
Source: Getty Images
Asaase News reported that the Economic and Organised Crime Office arrested the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, Kwabena Adu Boahene, at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on March 21 upon his arrival from the UK.
On the Antwi arrest, he appeared before the National Investigations Bureau on March 20, accompanied by his lawyer after an invitation.
Joy News reported that he was interrogated for several hours over the alleged fraudulent enlistment of non-existent personnel onto the National Service Scheme.
For Boahene, he was reportedly taken into custody at 8:30 am. in a joint operation involving investigators from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), led by its Deputy Director Raymond Archer, and officials from the Attorney-General’s Department.
Complaints from Afenyo-Markin
The minority leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, confirmed Boahene's arrest in a statement saying the former appointee was informed that he was on a Stop List and was wanted by authorities.
According to Afenyo-Markin, Boahene was placed in a white Nissan Navara pickup and escorted by fully armed officers.
He described it as the latest human rights abuse from the Mahama administration.
"Abusing the Rights of political opponents is a fundamental assault on our democracy!"
About the NSS ghost names scandal
A recent headcount of National Service Scheme beneficiaries revealed 81,885 ghost names on the payroll.
These ghost names cost taxpayers a staggering GH¢704.25 million annually, per 3News calculations.
These findings were linked to a Fourth Estate investigation, which found thousands of names assigned fake student index numbers supposedly linked to public universities and colleges of education.
Source: Facebook
President John Mahama ordered the National Investigations Bureau to probe the National Service Authority leading to multiple detentions of Akufo-Addo appointees.
These included a former Deputy Director in charge of Finance and administration, Gifty Oware-Mensah, and Kwaku Ohene Djan, also a former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority.
Other detentions by National Investigations Bureau
YEN.com.gh reported that the former Public Procurement Authority Board Chairman, Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi was detained by the National Investigative Bureau over an ongoing probe into financial dealings which transpired during his tenure as Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
Former Minister for Railway Development Joe Ghartey was also invited by the National Intelligence Bureau over the Ghana Sky Train project.
Under Ghartey, Ghana signed a concession agreement with Africa Investment (Ai) Sky Train Consortium in 2019, with an estimated cost of $3 billion.
However, the project never took off, and concerns were raised about its feasibility and financing. In 2022, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund disclosed that it had invested $2 million in the project.
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Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Delali Adogla-Bessa (Head of Current Affairs and Politics Desk) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.
Samuel Gitonga (Copy editor) Samuel Gitonga is a Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh. He holds a Bachelor of Broadcast Journalism Degree from the Multimedia University of Kenya. He has over 7 years’ experience in the digital journalism industry. He started out his career at the Kenya News Agency and proceeded to work for several reputable media outlets in Nairobi.
