A technical and forensic audit of the National Service Authority (NSA) has revealed that former Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi was fraudulently listed and paid as a volunteer within the same institution he headed — receiving a staggering GH¢8.2 million in allowances.
The audit report, obtained exclusively by The Fourth Estate, indicates that during the 2022/2023 service year—a year after assuming office—Mr Assibey Antwi was registered as a volunteer, issued an EZWICH card (No. 1177042059), and posted to the Greater Accra Region. Payroll records, however, placed him at Kumawu Farms, a 200-acre commercial farming project initiated under his administration.
According to auditors, the former NSA boss was irregularly paid GH¢516,000 every month for 16 months, totalling GH¢8,256,000. At the current national service allowance of GH¢715.57, the sum could have financed the monthly stipends of 721 legitimate service personnel.
These findings mirror disclosures by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, who announced in June that Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) had uncovered the same fraudulent payments.
“In the 2022/2023 service year, a total of GH¢8,256,000 was deposited into EZWICH account number 1177042059, registered in the name of suspect Osei Assibey. Investigations showed that he personally received these funds,” Dr Ayine said, adding that the card was retrieved during a search of his residence.
The revelations build on The Fourth Estate’s 2024 investigation into the NSA, which uncovered thousands of ghost names on its payroll. Before the report could be published, however, NSA leadership secured a court injunction to block its release.
The matter was subsequently referred to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Office of the Special Prosecutor, and later, ORAL.
In June 2025, the Attorney-General announced that several former NSA executives and accomplices would face prosecution for financial malfeasance that cost the state over GH¢548 million.
Dr Ayine praised the role of investigative journalism in exposing the scandal:
“The now-famous National Service scandal, which was first uncovered by The Fourth Estate, formed a major plank of the ORAL report. My office is extremely grateful for the excellent foundational work that they did.”
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