News
NSS Scandal: Methuselahs And Toddlers Were Paid GH¢1.97 Million As Service Personnel – Audit Report
The recent audit report into the “ghost names” scandal at the National Service Authority (NSA) makes damning revelations of how persons whose ages could not have made them national service personnel were registered and paid.
According to the report, exclusively seen by The Fourth Estate, personnel aged over 100 years, and some as old as 1027 years, were paid a total of GH¢ 115,037.24. Others between zero and 10 years were paid a total of GH¢ 889,977.77 through 1570 transactions. Cumulatively, persons aged between zero and 17 years were a total of GH¢1,313,114.29. While those aged between ages of 61 and 100 years were paid GH¢ 545,401.51
“Records showed negative ages, such as -3,968 years, enrolled and paid allowances,” the audit report revealed.
The table below presents the specifics of the age groups, number of transactions per age group, amount paid per age group and group summaries of total payment.
| Age Range | No of Transactions | Amount paid | Group Sum |
| Less than 1 Yr | 26 | 15,178.50 | 1,313,144.29 |
| 0 – 10 Yrs | 1570 | 889,977.77 | |
| 11 – 17 Yrs | 778 | 407,988.02 | |
| 61 – 70 Yrs | 765 | 414,820.30 | |
| 71 – 80 Yrs | 194 | 103,399.90 | 660,438.75 |
| 81 – 90 Yrs | 31 | 16,068.52 | |
| 90 – 100 Yrs | 28 | 11,112.79 | |
| Btn 100 & 1027 Yrs | 215 | 115,037.24 | |
| TOTAL | 3,607 | 1,973,583.04 | 1,973,583.04 |
Source: NSA Audit Report
These findings from the audit report confirm the details of The Fourth Estate’s investigations published some months ago, which reported that the NSA’s database was inflated with over-aged persons who had been registered and posted as service personnel.
For instance, the investigations revealed that 93-year-old Nimatu Salifu was listed as a UDS graduate. She deployed to Kpiyagi D/A Primary School in the Upper West Region in the 2022/2023 service year. In the same service year, 91-year-old Ruth Abdulai, supposedly a Development Studies graduate from UDS, was posted to Adakura Primary School in the Upper East Region.
Following the investigations, the then leadership of the NSA mounted a spirited defence against The Fourth Estate’s findings.
For example, the authority issued a statement on December 16, 2024, debunking the allegations of ghost names in the NSA database. The statement said, among other things:
“Following the series of publications with bizarre allegations against the Authority, the Management of the Authority conducted a quick review of the system and found all the allegations to be untrue.”
A former Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, who served between February 2017 and September 2018, Henry Nana Boakye, moved from one media house to another, accusing The Fourth Estate of having done a “shoddy work” and “lazy journalism”. This, according to him, was because, contrary to the claims by The Fourth Estate, the NSA system was capable of preventing the claims of ghost names as revealed by the publication.
Background
The Fourth Estate’s exposé on the NSS Scandal, published earlier this year, revealed the padding of ghost names in the NSA database and manipulation of posting processes, which caused the government to pay millions of cedis to service personnel that only existed on paper. Beyond revealing the existence of ghost names in the NSA database, the publication raised critical questions about value-for-money, data security, and institutional integrity of the CSMP/Metric App.
The findings from The Fourth Estate’s investigations prompted the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to conduct their own investigations, which revealed that the top-level executives of the NSA and their private sector vendors, in a scheme, had mismanaged over 548 million Ghana cedis through Ghost names. The investigation prompted public demand for probity and accountability.
In response, the Office of the President, through the Ministry of Youth and Empowerment, directed an immediate suspension of the CMSP/Metric App to allow for a comprehensive technical and forensic review.
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News
Police, Prisons, GNFS, Armed Forces To Benefit From New Housing Scheme
President John Dramani Mahama says the government has commissioned a Singaporean company to construct housing units for personnel of the security services, including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Armed Forces.
According to the President, the decision followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during his visit to Singapore in 2025 to establish a prefabricated housing factory in Ghana to support large-scale infrastructure delivery.
He explained that the company’s first major project was the construction of a 10,000-bed hostel at the University of Ghana, but it has now been tasked to also deliver accommodation for the country’s security agencies.
“But we have also commissioned them to build housing for our Police Service, our Prisons, Fire Service and the Ghana Armed Forces,” President Mahama stated.
The President made the disclosure while addressing the Ghana Police Service end-of-year gathering, popularly known as the West African Soldiers Social Activity (WASSA), at the Police Headquarters in Accra.
He said the initiative, under the government’s Big Push Agenda, is expected to significantly improve accommodation conditions for the security services, and urged the Police Service to identify available lands within their barracks for the housing projects.
“Start identifying your lands in your various barracks where we will build this accommodation so that we can provide enough housing for our police service,” he added.
President Mahama described WASSA as more than a social event, noting that it provides an opportunity for reflection on service, sacrifice and the shared responsibility of safeguarding peace and stability in Ghana.
He commended the Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, the Police Management Board and personnel of the Ghana Police Service for what he described as their effective performance during the recent Christmas and New Year festivities.
According to the President, despite increased travel and social activities during the festive period, crime levels were kept low through careful planning, discipline and intelligence-led operations.
He also praised the strategic deployment of officers across highways, communities, markets, places of worship, transport terminals and entertainment centres, saying the visible police presence reassured the public.
President Mahama said he was encouraged by the speed and professionalism with which incidents were handled, noting that reports were promptly addressed, suspects swiftly apprehended and criminal activities disrupted.
“Let us sustain this momentum and send a clear message that there will be no hiding place for criminal elements,” he said.
He further described the revival of WASSA after a long break as symbolic, stressing that it highlights the need for institutions to periodically reflect, reassess and renew their commitment to duty.
The President said this year’s celebration, themed “Resetting the Police Service: Professionalism, Integrity and Building Public Trust,” reflects the evolving challenges of modern policing and the expectations of the Ghanaian public.
“There can be no meaningful development without security. Every trader, student, commuter and investor depends on a sense of safety,” he stated.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the 2025 WASSA event was organised to allow officers to briefly step away from their demanding schedules to appreciate one another and acknowledge their collective efforts.
Source: GNA
News
Hohoe: Mobile Money Vendor Commits Suicide
Information reaching us at AladdynKingMedia.com indicates that a mobile money (MoMo) vendor who lived in Torkoni/Blave in the Volta Region’s Hohoe Municipality committed suicide, shocking and depressing the locals.
On Thursday, January 8, 2026, at roughly 1800 hours, word of the occurrence spread.
The deceased, whose identity is yet unknown, also sold brushes, toothpaste, and sponges at the Hohoe major lorry station.
Mr. Derek Adzoe, Assembly Member for the Torkoni/Blave Electoral Area, stated that the deceased was a MoMo vendor who had been heard making phone calls earlier in the day.
He claimed that the communication implied that someone was requesting money from the deceased, who clarified that he would pay the sum using electronic cash (e-cash) or MoMo.
According to accounts, some people later went to the deceased’s home, knocked on his door, and threatened to denounce him to the police, Mr. Adzoe continued.
He claimed that the brother of the deceased described how the calls affected his sibling’s mood, but he did not reveal the problem.
Mr. Adzoe claims that the brother went to town and returned to find the door shut.
The deceased was discovered dead when the door was forced open following multiple failed phone attempts to contact them.
The police had taken the body to the mortuary for more examinations, according to Mr. Adzoe, who was on the scene.
News
Amend Scholarship Authority Act – NUGS Urges Parliament
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has called on the government to urgently amend the Scholarship Authority Act to allow students to be directly represented on the Authority’s Governing Board.
In a statement issued on January 9, 2026, the student body said it was not satisfied with the Ministry of Education’s response to concerns raised about the board’s composition. NUGS said the current arrangement does not clearly protect the interests of students, who are the main beneficiaries of the Scholarship Authority.
NUGS explained that Ghana already has clear examples of student representation in education governance. It pointed to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), where the law allows NUGS to nominate a student representative to serve on the board. According to the union, the same approach should have been used in the Scholarship Authority Act.
READ ALSO: Scholarship Board: We’ll Fight Until Students Get Representation – NUGS
The union also dismissed claims that it is represented through civil society organisations. NUGS stressed that it is not a civil society organisation but a recognised national student union with the mandate to speak for students across the country. It added that past NUGS leadership has openly rejected any attempt to classify the union under civil society groups.
NUGS said student representation on the Scholarship Authority board must be clearly stated in law and not assumed or implied. It argued that decisions taken by the Authority directly affect students and therefore require a guaranteed student voice, preferably through a NUGS-nominated representative.
The union therefore appealed to Parliament and the Ministry of Education to amend the law under a certificate of urgency. It believes this will remove uncertainty, build public trust, and bring the Scholarship Authority in line with accepted standards in Ghana’s education sector.
While maintaining a strong position, NUGS said it remains open to dialogue and cooperation. The union described its action as principled and focused on protecting the interests of Ghanaian students, not as an attack on any institution.


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