The National Service Authority (NSA) has uncovered extensive irregularities in its payroll and registration system for the 2025/2026 service year, resulting in 8,105 names being flagged and 1,840 personnel suspended pending investigations by security agencies.
Speaking at the Authority’s headquarters, the Director-General, Ms Ruth Dela Sedoh, said the findings followed the deployment of a new centralised management system designed to eliminate payroll fraud, commonly referred to as “ghost names”.
She said the investigations revealed serious irregularities linked to 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).
Ms Sedoh disclosed that 10 staff members from the implicated institutions have been arrested and are currently under investigation by security agencies. She added that some staff of the National Service Authority have also been arrested and are undergoing interrogation.
According to her, the Authority has faced years of public criticism over fraudulent entries in the national service database. In response, management introduced stringent IT reforms, strengthened internal controls and improved banking trails to enhance transparency and accountability in payroll administration.
“To effectively implement these reforms, the old system was shut down and replaced with a new centralised platform, which has proven to be far more secure and efficient,” she said.
Ms Sedoh noted that the new system has already produced results, enabling the Authority to detect and prevent the recurrence of what she described as a long-standing challenge.
She explained that accredited tertiary institutions are required each year to submit lists of their final-year students through a secured portal managed by authorised staff. These submissions are then verified against records held by the National Identification Authority before deployment is carried out.
As part of the investigations, the NSA conducted extensive data extraction and forensic analysis of payment records, cross-checked flagged registrations with institutional databases, identified universities associated with suspicious entries, carried out on-site verification visits and engaged administrators to validate submitted student lists.
“The outcome of this detailed and comprehensive investigation revealed serious irregularities within the system,” Ms Sedoh said.
She stressed that affected individuals will remain flagged or suspended until investigations by the relevant security agencies are concluded, adding that the Authority remains committed to protecting public funds and restoring confidence in the National Service Scheme.
The NSA said the reforms mark a turning point in efforts to strengthen the integrity of the national service process and prevent payroll fraud in the future.
