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The Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Felix Gyamfi, has called on investigative journalists at The Fourth Estate to allow state institutions to complete their investigations into the ghost names scandal before drawing final conclusions.
His comments come in response to President John Dramani Mahama’s directive for an inquiry into 81,885 suspected ghost names found on the NSA payroll.
According to Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the irregularities were discovered during a headcount of active national service personnel. This audit was conducted at the request of Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as part of efforts to clear outstanding allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.
The scandal first came to light following an investigative report by The Fourth Estate in November 2024. The report uncovered discrepancies between the number of eligible personnel announced and those actually deployed between 2018 and 2024.
For example, in the 2017–2018 period, 91,871 personnel were officially announced, but only 88,000 were actually deployed, creating a shortfall of 2,900. Additionally, several names appeared multiple times in the NSA’s records, and some individuals over 90 years old were found to be registered for national service.
Speaking on The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV, Mr. Gyamfi described the findings as “shocking” but warned against rushing to conclusions before the investigation is complete.
> “It’s shocking, despicable to say the least, but I have said in earlier discussions that The Fourth Estate has put out an allegation, and it’s an allegation until it’s proven by the state. I think they should allow the state agencies to do the investigations as they should.
> And then let the information come out properly. The president has asked the Bureau of National Investigations to do a proper investigation. My fear and worry is that there is a certain feeling that there are ghost names. But we want to secure convictions if the crimes have been committed by individuals.
> However, if we put numbers out that would turn out not to be true, the case would lose its credibility. And I’m beginning to be afraid about it.”
Mr. Gyamfi emphasized the need for credible and verifiable evidence, cautioning that if inaccurate figures are reported, the entire case could lose its credibility and undermine efforts to hold accountable those responsible for any wrongdoing.
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