The National Service Authority (NSA) has disclosed that internal investigations have uncovered widespread irregularities within its system, leading to the flagging of 8,105 personnel on the national service payroll.

According to the Authority, 1,840 of the affected individuals have been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of investigations by relevant security and investigative agencies.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, December 15, the Director-General of the NSA, Ruth Dela Seddoh, said the irregularities were traced to three tertiary institutions: the University of Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communication Technology University and the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development.

She explained that the Authority compared the number of students who officially graduated from the institutions with the lists submitted for national service, a process that revealed serious discrepancies.

“Some schools are complicit in this whole issue, and I must emphasise that it is a huge cartel,” she said.

According to Ms Seddoh, the comprehensive investigations led to “shocking discoveries” that resulted in 8,105 individuals being flagged in the system, with 1,840 suspended pending the conclusion of further investigations by the security agencies. She added that 10 staff members from the affected institutions have been arrested and are currently under investigation.
“Due to the outcome of a very detailed, thorough and comprehensive investigation, we made shocking discoveries that resulted in the flagging of 8,105 individuals in the system. Let me repeat, we made a shocking discovery that resulted in us flagging 8,105 individuals in the system, and 1,840 individuals have been completely suspended pending conclusion of further investigations by the security agencies," she said.

Addressing public concerns over the closure of the national service portal after two extensions, six weeks after it was opened, the Director-General said the decision was necessary to allow for reposting, proper validation and verification of the physical presence of personnel at their assigned postings.

“This timeline was not arbitrary,” she said, explaining that the process was carefully structured to ensure accurate deployment records, eliminate ghost or fraudulent registrations and enable re-validation. She added that enforcing the deadline was also critical to facilitating the timely payment of allowances to verified personnel.