Madam Gifty Oware-Mensah (R) upon her arrival at the KIA
Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has condemned a supposed attempt by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to arrest Gifty Oware-Mensah, a former deputy executive director of the National Service Scheme (NSS).
Speaking to journalists after Oware-Mensah arrived in the country on Tuesday, 4th March, the Member of Parliament argued that she should have been invited in a more civil manner to respond to the allegations against her, rather than being ambushed at the airport.
“Sometimes this ‘Rambo-style’ approach doesn’t help. If you want to invite someone, you can do so. The person is a public official, so there should be no problem,” he said.
“If the person arrives with a lawyer or states that they do not need one, and is willing to answer questions, and if bail is necessary, arrangements can be made. I think that is what is required by the law,” he added.
Before Oware-Mensah arrived, JoyNews had picked up reports that the NIB had laid an ambush to arrest her once she touched down. However, that did not happen following reports of some backdoor conversations between the NIB and the Minority leader.
She’s now expected to report the NIB voluntarily.
Background
President John Dramani Mahama has instructed the NIB to conduct an immediate investigation into the operations of the National Service Authority (NSA), following the discovery of 81,885 suspected ghost names on its payroll.
This issue was revealed in a report by the Fourth Estate, an independent anti-corruption media organisation.
A press statement issued by the presidency on 12th February noted that the discrepancies were further identified after a headcount of active National Service personnel, which was initiated by the Minister for Finance as a prerequisite for clearing allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
As the Deputy Executive Director, Gifty Oware-Mensah had responsibility for administration and finance of the NSS and is expected to be a key witness in the ongoing investigations.
The alleged payroll fraud is reported to have cost the state a staggering GHȼ50 million each month.
It is unclear how long the alleged scheme went on.
Over the weekend, the government announced an extradition process to bring key suspects in alleged malfeasance back to Ghana, following reports that some individuals wanted to assist in investigations had fled the country to evade justice.
The NIB recently detained and questioned Kwaku Ohene Djan, also a former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority, over the raging allegations.
Credit: Albert Kuzor
