The Coordinator for Special Initiatives at the Jubilee House and Sumaila Abdul Rahman, the Chief Executive of the Northern Development Authority have been interrogated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor on allegations of corruption.
“The Special Prosecutor has invited the Coordinator for Special Initiatives at the Jubilee House and several serving officers, including the Chief Executive, and relevant past officers of the NDA and officers of A&Qs Consortium for questioning.
All the invited persons have been placed on bail and if found culpable, they will be charged and arraigned before the High Court for prosecution,” the Office of the Special Prosecutor stated in a press release (published) yesterday.
The Coordinator for Special Initiatives reeks strongly in a no-holes-barred petition to the Chief of staff copied to the President under the headline; “FALSIFICATION OF A&Q’s CONTRACT UNDER THE IPEP” in which the lecturer at Sociology Department and former CEO of Northern Development Authority NDA), Dr, Sulemana Anamzoya, detailed how fraud was perpetrated in his name by the Sumaila Abdul Rahman led Management.
The petition stated “Quite recently, my attention was drawn to a contract purportedly signed by me whiles I was in office as Ag. Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), awarding a Consultancy Service contract to A&Q’s Consortium (A&Q’s) in the sum of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢10, 400,000), under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).”
I wish to draw the attention of your office to the following: “he said in the petition. He added that during his tenure as Ag. CEO of NDA between December 18, 2019 and March 31, 2021, he never signed a Gh¢10,400,000 contract for A&Q’s for Consultancy Supervision or for any services, and that the only contract he awarded to A&Q’s for the sum of Gh¢5,720,000.
He intimated to the Chief of Staff Frema Opare that the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on January 16, 2020 gave approval to NDA to use single source procurement for the recruitment of various consultancy services for the purpose of the implementation of the IPEP program. “The PPA approval letter provided details of the appointment, the proposed consultants, the number of constituencies per region for each consultant, and the estimated cost per each consultant (please find enclosed PPA’s approval letter). On January 28, 2020 with PPA approval, I signed contracts awarding the consultancy services contract to the five (5) consultants who were approved by the PPA” he said in the petition He added that accordance with the PPA approval and the contract he signed, A&Q’s was engaged to provide Consultancy Supervision for eleven constituencies in the Upper West Region at an estimated cost of Five Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢5,720,000) only.
“Even though the award letter I signed has an amount of Gh¢5,720,000, I have sighted a doctored version of the award letter which indicates that I purportedly signed a Consultancy Supervision Contract to A&Q’s under the IPEP at a cost of Ten Million, Four Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh¢10,400,000) which document I vehemently deny as having emanated from me. (Please find attached the doctored contract document).”
He added “As evidenced by the doctored contract attached, my signature was transposed on a contract (with a sum of Gh¢10,400,000), whose numbering does not tally with the remaining pages of the contract.” he affirmed in the petition. He told the Chief of Staff and the President that “Whatever the intent of the perpetrators might be, this matter needs urgent attention to expose the perpetrators and punishment meted out to them, but more importantly to clear me of any wrong doing).
Accordingly, I wish to bring this to your attention for your good office for further investigations, whilst I take steps to report the incident to the Ghana Police Service.”
