NSA uncovers over 8,000 suspicious names on payroll

The National Service Authority has uncovered widespread irregularities in its 2025/2026 registration database, flagging more than 8,105 suspicious names and suspending 1,840 individuals over alleged fraud.

The Director-General of the authority, Ruth Dela Seddoh, said investigations traced the anomalies to submissions from three tertiary institutions, the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU), and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED).

She disclosed that 10 university staff members and several officials of the National Service Authority had been arrested and were assisting security agencies with investigations into activities that could have cost the state about GH¢68.64 million annually in wrongful allowance payments.

Addressing journalists during a media briefing, Ms Seddoh said the irregularities were uncovered after the authority deployed a new digital verification system designed to strengthen oversight and eliminate long-standing weaknesses in the registration process.

“The operation has successfully identified and addressed significant irregularities and how cartels still want to infiltrate the system with ghost names,” she said.

She explained that the reforms had blocked systemic abuse and prevented substantial losses to the public purse.

“Thankfully, the efficient system and the swift actions taken have prevented potential financial losses to the state, which would have amounted to GH¢68,640,000 per year,” she stated, adding, “We have shut the doors that allowed ghost names to thrive, and anyone who attempts to infiltrate the system again will face the full rigours of the law.”

Ms Seddoh said the authority had introduced automated cross-checks between tertiary institutions’ databases and NSA records before approvals were granted, while audits of submitted data had been intensified.

“The authority has also built the capacity of institutional staff on compliance and data integrity and enhanced payment monitoring processes,” she noted.

She further explained that the old registration system had been discontinued after being deemed inadequate, replaced with a centralised and more robust management platform supported by improved banking trails and internal controls.

Providing context, the Director-General said accredited institutions submitted final-year students’ data through a secure portal, which was cross-checked with the National Identification Authority database prior to deployment.

She added that investigations involved forensic analysis of payment records, on-site verification at implicated institutions and direct engagement with university administrators.

Touching on the registration process, Ms Seddoh said enrolment for the 2025/2026 service year began on October 8, following an initial announcement a day earlier. She said deadlines were adjusted after stakeholder consultations, with the portal finally closing on December 12 after postings and regional validation exercises.

Explaining the closure, she said, “The decision to end the registration and validation process was operationally necessary to allow us to progress with additional deployments for this service year,” stressing that timely posting of nurses and teachers was critical to national welfare.

On challenges faced by applicants, she pointed to persistent data mismatches linked to past changes in names and ages.

“Many students who changed their names or adjusted their ages years ago now face conflicting data that prevents their registration,” she said, adding that special desks, reduced gazette fees and partnerships with relevant agencies had been introduced to resolve such cases.

She also warned institutions against rejecting posted personnel without valid justification. “Institutions that turn away personnel without official release letters will face punitive action, including blacklisting from future postings,” Ms Seddoh cautioned, urging all stakeholders to treat national service as a shared responsibility.