The former Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA) has strongly dismissed The Fourth Estate’s investigation into the alleged ‘ghost names’ scandal.
This follows an exposé by The Fourth Estate that implicated former NSA officials who served under President Akufo-Addo’s tenure.
In a statement issued by former NSA directors, including Osei Assibey Antwi and Mustapha Ussif, they urged the public to disregard the publication, describing it as baseless and misleading.
“The publication by the Fourth Estate must therefore be treated with the contempt it deserves as it is a manifest example of how the misapprehension of data and institutional processes may result in
conclusions that misinform and mislead the general public.
The former directors urged journalists to uphold their professional ethics and conduct thorough investigations to avoid publishing sensational stories.
However, they welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s directive for an official investigation into the alleged ‘ghost names’ scandal.
“We urge journalists to stay true to their creed and be thorough in their work to avoid publishing sensational stories that malign individuals without basis.
“Finally, we welcome the directive by President Mahama for an investigation, as we are certain the investigation will reveal that the true state of affairs on the matters published are contrary to the contrived allegations by the Fourth Estate.”
President John Dramani Mahama recently issued a directive for an investigation into 81,885 suspected ghost names found on the NSA payroll.
Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, stated that these irregularities were detected during a headcount of active national service personnel.
The audit was commissioned at the request of the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as part of efforts to clear outstanding allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
Ghost names scandal: Manipulation was centralised, regional directors sidelined – Fourth Estate
