A Deputy National Youth Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Osman Abdulai Ayariga, has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to launch investigation into “all cases of corruption and corruption related activities unearthed” in the Fourth Estate’s recent work on the award of scholarships by the Scholarship Secretariat.
The former President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) says the enormity of the findings of the investigation needs further probe by the OSP, therefore invoking Sections 2(a), 3(1)(g) and 79 of The Office of Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (ACT 959) to wade into the matter.
“It has become necessary to petition your office due to the despicable magnitude of abuse the Scholarship secretariat under the current leadership has exhibited. I am therefore by this petition calling for a full-scale investigation into the activities of the Registrar and associated staff of the secretariat regarding the award of scholarships,” he stated in his petition.
Citing some of the findings of the investigations, Mr. Ayariga said those who took the sum but never pursued their supposed course; staff at the secretariat who demanded prior payments of commission from students seeking scholarships before such approvals were given; as well as those who received double sponsorships, aside from relatives of the rich and affluence in society taking the scholarships at the expense of the needy who really need it, must all be probed to uncover the rot that has gone on at the secretariat.
He has therefore called on the OSP to interdict the Registrar, Kingsley Agyemang, and investigate the activities of the Registrar and associated staff of the secretariat regarding the award of scholarships.
Meanwhile, TV3’s Komla Klutse, reporting from the Office of the Special Prosecutor on News Central Tuesday, April 09, 2024, spoke with some students who welcomed Mr. Ayariga’s petition.
Speaking to some of them, they lamented on how they applied for the fund but never got it, despite being needy students.
