BNI retaining 6.5 million GH ¢ owned by NSS – Executive Director

General News on Thursday, April 18, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-18

Mustapha Ussif, executive director of the National Service Scheme (NSS) said the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) still retains an amount of 6.5 million GH ¢ belonging to the system as an exhibit in a case.

According to him, the BNI, in its money collection operation purportedly deducted from the service allowance account, created the BNI director's account to deposit the money.

Mr. Ussif made this disclosure when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions raised by the 2016 Auditor General's Report.

Mr. Ussif's response followed a question from Mr. Sam George, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Pampram, on why the 6.5 million GH ¢ should be paid into the account of the Director of BNI.

Ussif also explained that when the scheme was hit by the ghost name scandal, the investigative body charged by the government with investigating the issue was the BNI.

He added that the BNI had then decided to create a special account to collect funds allegedly deducted from the allocation account of service personnel of district officers, regional officers and NSS national officers involved in the scandal. .

He stated that when he took office and reviewed his notes and the Auditor General's report, he formally wrote to the Director of BNI at the time and also asked to meet to discuss how these amounts could be reimbursed to the NSS.

He added that the BNI, in its response, had stated that, as the case was still pending in court and that she was using money as an exhibit, she would not return it to the court. report until the conclusion of the file.

However, Mr Sam George, who was not satisfied with the NSS leader's response, asked Mr James Klutse Avedze, President of the CAP, to comment on the matter.

"I do not see how the 6.5 million GH ¢ would remain in the BNI account and not be returned to the chest as evidence. Once, a bank statement indicates that the recoveries made in the different districts were made on the specialized account, which should be enough to initiate legal proceedings, "he added.

Ghost names rocked the NSS in 2014, which led to the arrest and criminal prosecution of several officers, including; the then Executive Director, Alhaji Alhbadan Mohammed Imoro and 34 other people.

A report from BNI suggests that between September 2013 and August 2014, the then Executive Director and 34 other people, including: all regional directors and other senior officers inflated the payroll with as much as 31,516 ghost names for national service badignments and national volunteer service recruitment.

All these ghost names benefited from GH ¢ 243.00 and GH ¢ 350 paid to National Service agents that year, suggesting that the money went to the pockets of those behind the plot.