Alleged NSS fraud: Ghost names include over 90-year-olds – Braimah

The Fourth Estate’s latest investigative report into Ghana’s National Service Scheme (NSS) has revealed a bizarre detail that several supposed National Service Personnel are listed as being over 90 years old.

According to the investigation, the NSS database contained names of individuals allegedly completing tertiary education at an advanced age.

In one case, a 93-year-old, named Nimatus, was listed as a graduate of the University for Development Studies (UDS) and deployed to a primary school in the Upper West Region. Similarly, a 91-year-old named Ruth Abdullah was assigned to another district.

Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of The Fourth Estate who revealed this on The KeyPoints on February 15, said the anomalies, which were detected in the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 service years, suggest a deliberate effort to insert fictitious names into the system to siphon off funds meant for genuine service personnel.

Investigators noted that some universities, including UDS and the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), were used extensively with thousands of fake index numbers linked to these institutions.

Officials from affected universities have since denied knowledge of these fraudulent entries.

“These are not our students. The index numbers and student details do not match our records,” a university representative told The Fourth Estate.

The revelations have sparked outrage, with civil society organizations calling for immediate action against those responsible for the fraudulent scheme.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Mr Felix Gyamfi, has described Mr Sulemana’s revelation as not wholly accurate.

“What Sulemana is showing is not factual, there is ongoing investigation to establish culpability, but it is not done yet,” Mr Gyamfi told 3news in a phone discussion.

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Alleged NSS fraud: Bawumia’s description of Ghana Card as ‘Ghost names buster’ exposed – Braimah

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