The National Service Authority (NSA) has uncovered massive systemic irregularities in the 2025/2026 national service registration database, exposing over 8,105 suspicious names and suspending 1,840 individuals over alleged fraud.
Investigations traced the anomalies to three tertiary institutions — University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana Communications Technology University (GCTU), and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED).
As a result, 10 university staff and several NSA officials have been arrested and are under investigation by security agencies over fraud that could have cost the state approximately GH¢68.64 million annually in wrongful allowance payments.
The deployment of a new digital verification system has not only dismantled entrenched “ghost name” cartels but also saved taxpayers millions while restoring public confidence in the national service scheme.
Decisive steps
Addressing the media at a news conference in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the authority, Ruth Dela Seddoh, stated that the NSA had taken decisive steps to prevent a recurrence of the irregularities.
She explained that the authority had strengthened its verification protocols by introducing automated cross-checks between institutional databases and NSA records before final approvals were granted.
“The authority has also intensified audits of data submitted by tertiary institutions, built the capacity of institutional staff on compliance and data integrity, and enhanced payment monitoring processes,” she said.
Additionally, the director-general said legal actions were being pursued against culpable individuals and institutions.
“The operation has successfully identified and addressed significant irregularities and how cartels still want to infiltrate the system with ghost names.
“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 said.
“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,” she added.
Detection of irregularities
The director-general explained that management had introduced stringent IT reforms and enhanced internal controls with proper banking trails.
She said the old system was shut down and replaced with a new, centralised and robust management system after it was deemed inadequate.
Providing context to the detection of the irregularities, she stressed that accredited tertiary institutions submitted their final-year students' lists through a secure portal, after which the authority cross-checked the data with the National Identification Authority database before deployment.
She added that investigations involved forensic analysis of payment records, cross-referencing suspicious registrations, on-site verification at implicated institutions and direct engagement with university administrators to validate submitted data.
Registration process
Touching on the registration process, Ms Seddoh said the authority carefully reviewed its decisions, timelines and actions for the 2025/2026 service year to ensure transparency and efficiency.
She explained that the registration, which began on October 8, 2025, was conducted entirely on the NSA’s enhanced online platform following an initial announcement on October 7.
She said the initial deadline of October 15 was extended to October 24 after stakeholder consultations, allowing for wider participation before deployment commenced.
She said 89,159 personnel were posted on October 28, regional validation started the following day, and after a final extension, the registration portal was officially closed on December 12.
“The entire process was managed to ensure that no eligible applicant was left behind,” she said.
Portal closure
On why the portal was closed, Ms Seddoh explained that “the decision to end the registration and validation process was operationally necessary to allow us to progress with additional deployments for this service year”.
She stressed that this adjustment ensured the timely posting of nurses and teachers, which was foundational to the country’s national well-being and critical for schools and health facilities to function smoothly.
She added that enforcing the deadline was essential to ensure accurate deployment records, confirm the physical presence of personnel, eliminate ghost registrations, and facilitate the timely payment of allowances to verified personnel.
Addressing the challenges
Addressing issues connected with operational challenges, Ms Seddoh stated that despite extensions and reminders, a significant number of prospective personnel did not complete their registration or validation.
She explained that one of the most persistent issues had been data mismatches between university records and the National Identification Authority, often caused by past administrative choices.
“Many students who changed their names or adjusted their ages years ago now face conflicting data that prevents their registration,” she said.
To resolve these issues, she said, “We have implemented support mechanisms, including setting up specialised desks at NSA headquarters and regional offices, negotiating reduced gazette fees, and partnering the NIA and Ghana Publishing Company to address mismatches efficiently on-site”.
She added that the authority was committed to working relentlessly with all partners to ensure that administrative mismatches did not hinder anyone’s patriotic commitment to serve the nation.
Direct appeal
On institutional accountability, Ms Seddoh stressed that while the NSA did not have the legal mandate to compel any organisation to accept posted personnel, last-minute rejections remained a serious disruption to graduates’ lives.
She warned that institutions rejecting personnel without valid reasons or official release letters would face punitive action, including blacklisting from future postings.
She said the authority was working with top government officials to ensure that the scheme operated with fairness and predictability.
Ms Seddoh further appealed to all institutions that the allocation of service personnel was a shared national duty and must be planned for and respected.
