The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has revealed that the office commenced an investigation into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat in July 2023. This was contained in a response letter addressed to Osman Abdulai Ayariga, who on April 9, 2024, petitioned the OSP to investigate the Scholarship Secretariat for “corruption and corruption-related offences.”
The Scholarship Secretariat has come under a barrage of criticism following the Fourth Estate’s investigation, in which the Secretariat awarded huge funding amounts to relatives of politically exposed persons to study abroad.
This contradicts the Scholarship Secretariat’s main objective of offering local and foreign scholarships to academically talented but financially disadvantaged students. Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, who signed the letter, noted that “the Office of the Special Prosecutor commenced investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat circa July 2023. The investigation is active and ongoing.” The Special Prosecutor added that the Office will contact the petitioner, Mr. Ayariga, for assistance should the need arise.
OSP Petitioned
Mr Ayariga, the Deputy National Youth Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), in a statement released on Tuesday, held the view that the activities of the Registrar must be investigated.
“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 emphasised the urgency of investigating these matters to prevent any future misappropriation of resources.
“I hereby request that the Registrar be subjected to investigations and be made to step aside pending the outcome of the investigations to prevent interference with the investigative process.”
“I am counting on your ability to carry out a thorough investigation into the grounds stated above and accordingly inform the Ghanaian people of the outcome of the investigations,” said Mr. Ayariga.
Below is the full petition by Mr. Ayariga
