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Tag: Haruna Mohammed

  • Gifty Oware Mensah released after meeting GHS10m bail condition

    Gifty Oware Mensah released after meeting GHS10m bail condition

    The former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware Mensah, has been released after fulfilling the GH¢10 million bail requirement set by the court.

    This information was made public by the Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, on Wednesday, November 11. According to him, the former Executive Director of the NSA, Osei Assibey Antwi, remains in custody as he has yet to meet his GH¢800 million bail requirement.


    During a recent interview with Channel One TV, he noted, “Madam Gifty Oware met the bail condition just yesterday, so she has been released except for her superior, who faces an 800 million bail condition. What kind of figure is that?”


    The embattled former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA) has pleaded not guilty to charges of causing a financial loss of over GH¢38 million to the state.

    She was granted GH¢10 million bail by the Accra High Court on Wednesday, October 22. Mrs. Oware-Mensah faces five counts, while her former boss, the Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, faces fourteen charges. In total, the alleged offenses connected to Mr. Antwi are valued at approximately GH¢615,117,744.02.


    Last week, the court indefinitely adjourned the case after the duo failed to appear before it for a hearing. Explaining their absence, Mr. Assibey Antwi’s legal counsel noted that his client was busy cooperating with the police on a separate matter in Kumasi.

    Mrs. Oware-Mensah’s lawyers disclosed that their client was unwell and unable to attend proceedings. Their charges include willfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, money laundering, and using public office for profit.


    The accusations include causing financial loss to the Republic, with the main charge suggesting that Mr. Antwi approved payments of allowances to over 60,000 ghost national service personnel, leading to a total loss of GH¢500,861,744.02.

    He is also charged with several counts of theft amounting to GH¢8,256,000, which allegedly occurred between August 2023 and May 2024.


    Prosecutors allege that Mr. Antwi diverted project funds by authorizing the withdrawal of GH¢106 million from the NSA’s Kumawu Farm Project account on five different occasions without using any of it for the intended purpose.

    The state also contends that he engaged in money laundering by transferring GH¢8.26 million into his personal e-zwich account and taking control of the funds despite knowing they were criminal proceeds.


    Court documents indicate that Oware-Mensah, who managed the Finance and Procurement units of the NSA, allegedly masterminded a sophisticated scheme centered on the Authority’s “marketplace” platform—a system intended to offer hire-purchase services to national service personnel.

    Prosecutors claim she gained control of a private entity, Blocks of Life Consult, and created a list of 9,934 fictitious names within the NSA database.

    She is said to have then approached the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), falsely asserting that her company had supplied goods to those ghost beneficiaries and required a loan, using their fake allowances as collateral.


    This deception allegedly led to a loan arrangement between ADB and the NSA, resulting in GH¢31.5 million being paid directly into her company’s account. Of that amount, she is accused of transferring over GH¢22.9 million to another company where she also served as a director. Investigations revealed that no goods were ever delivered to any service personnel.

    Her actions, with interest included, are alleged to have cost the state a total of GH¢38,458,248.87. A couple of months ago, the Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, revealed that eight individuals, including three former officers of the National Service Authority (NSA), had admitted to their involvement in the misappropriation of funds at the National Service Scheme (NSS).

    Providing an update on the case as part of the Government Accountability Series on Monday, July 28, Dr. Ayine disclosed that eight individuals wished to plead guilty in exchange for lighter punishment.


    He explained that the office intended to file formal charges last week; however, this was postponed following new revelations regarding the ongoing case. The new evidence, he noted, is tied to a Bank of Ghana account linked to former NSA Director-General, Mr. Osei Assibey, suggesting potential embezzlement involving public funds.

    According to him, a total of GH¢189 million was deposited into the account of Mr. Osei Assibey; however, GH¢80 million cannot be accounted for.


    Furthermore, nearly GH¢2 million was allegedly withdrawn using two cheques that carried Mr. Assibey’s name and account information. The A-G stated that the office has reached out to the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for further information and documentation.


    “The National Service Authority scandal case was due to be filed last week. However, we stumbled upon evidence of malfeasance involving an account at the Bank of Ghana. Out of the GH¢189 million transferred, GH¢80 million cannot be traced. Two cheques linked to the former Director-General were used to withdraw just under GH¢2 million,” Dr. Ayine stated.


    He added that some of the accused have shown readiness to provide testimony against their fellow accused, with several vendors and service providers also reportedly willing to support the prosecution as witnesses.


    Earlier this year, a non-profit investigative body, The Fourth Estate, released a report into payroll records from 2017 to 2023 and the 2024 National Service Year. The findings revealed serious irregularities within the NSA, uncovering how a 72-year-old Kenyan, Kwame Donkor, was wrongly listed as a beneficiary.

    Mr. Donkor was enlisted on the payroll with a photo but not an official ID card, which is unusual. However, the photo belonged to Emmanuel Mutio, a Human Resource Manager at a private IT company in Kenya. The 72-year-old Kenyan had his name appear on the payroll 226 times as a registered beneficiary.


    The Fourth Estate initially uncovered the issue in November 2024, but the NSA obtained a court order preventing them from publishing the findings. After the court lifted the injunction, the report was finally released.

    In response, President John Dramani Mahama ordered a probe into the matter. Following the President’s directive, the NIB interrogated the former Deputy Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, and Kwaku Ohene Djan, who is also a former Deputy Executive Director of the NSA.


    The payroll fraud reportedly costs Ghana GH¢50 million monthly. In May, the Authority interdicted two of its officials in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region.

  • Ablekuma North: We’re not boycotting rerun because of defeat – NPP

    Ablekuma North: We’re not boycotting rerun because of defeat – NPP

    The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says its decision not to participate in the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun scheduled for Friday, July 11, is not because the party fears defeat.

    Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Deputy General Secretary of the party, Haruna Mohammed, explained that contesting in the election will set a dangerous precedent and compromise future elections.

    “Elections are elections; you can predict to win; you will never predict to lose. Opinions are opinions; everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. I cannot attack their opinion, but I can only prove my point to disagree with their opinion, and I disagree that we would lose – that is why we are not going.

    “It will serve as a bad precedent and open a Pandora’s box. People who believe in hooliganism, who believe in taking the law into their own hands, will perpetuate injustice in the future, anticipating that the Electoral Commission will kowtow to their will,” he added.

    The Electoral Commission (EC), after extensive deliberations, noted that it will hold the rerun election because the 19 scanned polling station results used for the collation, though approved by agents of both political parties, were not verified by the presiding officers responsible for those polling stations.

    The EC arrived at this decision after it met with the representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday, July 1.

    The meeting, which was a follow-up to an earlier meeting held on Thursday, 12th June, provided both parties the opportunity to brief the commission on any new developments regarding the said constituency.

    The parties informed the Commission that their positions put forward at the last meeting remained unchanged.

    The NDC held the view that the election should be rerun in thirty-seven (37) polling stations because scanned pink sheets from 37 polling stations, which were used to collate the results, were provided by the NPP.

    The NPP was of the view that the results from three (3) outstanding polling stations be collated and a winner declared, since the NDC agents had verified and confirmed the scanned polling station results they presented.

    In response, the NPP filed an interlocutory injunction application on July 6to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from proceeding with the rerun election.

    General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has noted that the party won the 2024 Ablekuma North parliamentary election and, as such, will not participate in the rerun election slated for Friday, July 11.

    At a press briefing today, July 8, Frimpong Kodua noted the Electoral Commission to complete collation of results and declare the party’s candidate, Akua Afriyie, as winner.

    “We have our undeniable evidence to clearly show that we won the Ablekuma North parliamentary election. And yesterday, when the National Executive Committee met, we said that under no circumstances will we be intimidated. Under no circumstance will we be coerced to go for a rerun.”

    “We will not go for any rerun. We have won the elections. What we are asking the Electoral Commission is to follow the court directive, finish the collation, and declare our candidate, Akua Afriyie, as the MP-elect for Ablekuma North,” he said.

    But the NPP’s application has been dismissed by the High Court.

    Ablekuma North remains the only constituency in Ghana without a sitting MP, months after the 2024 general elections, due to unresolved disagreements over the outcome of the parliamentary vote.

    On December 10, 2024, three days after the national polls, the EC declared Ewurabena Aubynn of the NDC the winner of the Ablekuma North parliamentary seat, defeating the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Nana Akua Owusu Afriyieh.

    However, the EC later revoked the announcement, revealing that results from 62 of the 281 polling stations had not been included in the initial collation.

    Efforts to restart the collation in January 2025 were disrupted by multiple challenges.

    These included interruptions due to the submission of unverified pink sheets and a violent intrusion at the collation centre that heightened security concerns.

    By January 6, only seven polling station results remained uncollated. Yet the process came to a standstill as the EC began engaging both major political parties in an attempt to break the deadlock.

    Both the NPP and the NDC have declared victory in the December parliamentary elections.

    The NPP maintains that its candidate, Nana Akua Afriyie, emerged the winner based on Electoral Commission figures, while the NDC insists that Ewurabena Aubyn was rightfully elected by the people.

    Appearing before Parliament on Thursday, June 19, the Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Corporate Affairs, Dr. Bossman noted the Commission will only resort to a re-run after all measures have been exhausted.

    “So, for Ablekuma North, we have not reached the point where we will say we don’t have the results. When we try and we cannot get the results, that is when we will resort to the rerun. The rerun will be a last option,” he said.

    The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, warned that the continued delay poses a serious threat to Ghana’s democratic reputation and the integrity of its electoral system.

    He cautioned that how the dispute is handled will shape public trust in Ghana’s electoral processes well beyond the current cycle.

    “This is a pivotal moment. The way we handle the collation in Ablekuma North will resonate across the country. It will set the tone, not only for this election, but also for public confidence in the years to come,” Dr. Yohuno stated.

  • Step down if you are tired and cannot contribute effectively – NPP Deputy General Secretary tells MPs

    Step down if you are tired and cannot contribute effectively – NPP Deputy General Secretary tells MPs

    The Deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has encouraged ministers and deputy ministers within President Akufo-Addo’s administration who feel fatigued and ineffective to step down.

    Mr Mohammed believes that this move would open up opportunities for individuals with fresh perspectives and energy to join the government, ultimately improving both governmental performance and the party’s outlook in the upcoming December elections.

    Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Mohammed emphasized the need to prioritize the interests of the party and government over personal concerns.

    He highlighted that there is still sufficient time for the government and the party to fulfill their mandates effectively for the Ghanaian people.

    “…At this juncture, we are happy that the President has listened to the calls by the New Patriotic Party’s General Secretary to reshuffle his government. However, we are still calling on those who think they are very tired and cannot contribute to the fortunes of the government and the party, they should voluntarily resign so that people that will be able to assist will be appointed,” he said.

    While expressing satisfaction that the President has responded to calls for a government reshuffle, Mohammed continues to urge those who feel exhausted and unproductive to voluntarily resign.

    This, he believes, would allow the appointment of individuals who can make meaningful contributions.

    After facing public pressure for several months, President Akufo-Addo has finally made adjustments to his government. These changes follow the resignations of former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen and Agriculture Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who stepped down to focus on their political campaigns.

    In compliance with the 1992 Constitution, the President officially informed the Speaker of Parliament about the new composition of the government on Tuesday, February 13. Approximately 12 individuals have been appointed to ministerial positions, and others have been shuffled to different ministries.

  • Without doubt, it’s certain that NPP will surely break the eight – Deputy General Secretary

    Without doubt, it’s certain that NPP will surely break the eight – Deputy General Secretary

    Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has conveyed a strong belief in the party’s ability to secure victory in the forthcoming 2024 general elections.

    During an interview on JoyNews’ The Probe, Mr. Mohammed underscored the positive outcomes observed in the NPP primaries within orphan constituencies, interpreting them as indicative of the party’s preparedness to maintain its political dominance.

    Expressing confidence in obtaining a majority of seats in the 2024 elections, he attributed this optimism to the calibre of candidates strategically chosen in constituencies without current NPP representation.

    Mr Mohammed went on to laud the delegates for their pivotal role in the candidate selection process, highlighting the demonstrated competence and strong rapport with the electorate as key criteria.

    Acknowledging the internal nature of the contest, he clarified that in such scenarios, there are no losers but rather a purposeful selection process.

    The Deputy General Secretary’s remarks underscore the party’s unity and confidence in the candidates chosen to represent the NPP in the upcoming elections.

    “There was no winner and there was no loser at the end of the polls because this is an internal contest. In an internal contest, there’s no loser; there’s a selection,” Mohammed explained.


    Highlighting the imperative of internal harmony, Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, underscored the importance of unity within the party.

    He urged all contestants to unite and support the selected candidates collaboratively post-competition.

    Mr. Mohammed emphasised the pivotal role of national, regional, and constituency officers in fostering inclusivity and cohesion within the party. He stressed the shared responsibility of party leaders at various levels to promote a sense of togetherness.

    Recognising the forthcoming elections as a critical opportunity, Mr. Mohammed articulated the party’s ambition to break the eight-year cycle and secure victory in the political landscape. His remarks highlight the significance of solidarity and collective effort within the NPP to achieve success in the upcoming political contest.

    “This is our second attempt at breaking the eight, and this time around, we’re going to make it. We’re very sure of winning political power, but we need a majority in the House of Parliament, he asserted.

    On Saturday, 321 aspirants vied for a slot in 111 constituencies described as ‘orphan’ because the incumbent MPs are not the reps of the NPP.

    Delegates were given the mandate to select individuals who would contest the 2024 parliamentary election on the ticket of the party.

  • ‘Mahama’s recommendations are much ado about nothing’ – NPP

    The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described former President John Mahama’s speech on the state of the economy as a desperate attempt to return to power.

    The former President on Thursday, October 27, 2022, described current economic challenges as the worst Ghana has ever witnessed and recommended amongst other things a cut down in government expenditure as a measure to restore fiscal stability.

    But the ruling party says the alternatives proffered are not relevant to the challenges faced by the country.

    In an interview with Citi News, Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Haruna Mohammed, indicated that the recommendations are much ado about nothing.

    “It is rather unfortunate that listening to His Excellency the former president, you do not hear any pointy alternatives. They are all lamentations and rhetorics, all desperate attempts to return to power. But then, as always has been, Ghana is a democratic state and accepts diverse opinions, so we will allow such views to pass through.”

    Meanwhile, the party is urging Ghanaians to remain steadfast as government takes steps to address the teething challenges facing the economy.

    “We have a working government and team and are tirelessly working towards economic recovery,” he added.