Deputy Communications Minister, George Andah has risen to the defense of the Communications Minister Ursula Owusu Ekuful over allegations of bribery and corruption leveled against her by Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyepong.
“How on earth can my boss, Ursula be accused of corruption regarding National ID Cards when NIA is not even under her purview and she did not give any instruction regarding the National ID card process – she can never be accused of corruption in this matter,” he stressed.
It would be recalled that in a statement released last Friday, the minister challenged her accuser to produce evidence backing his allegations, adding the allegations are borne out of ignorance.
Ursula Owusu stands accused of collecting bribes as a condition for the award of contract for the issuance of a national ID card, an allegation she has dismissed with contempt.
In keeping with the promise of investigating all his appointees against whom corruption allegations are made, the president has directed the CID to investigate Ursula Owusu together with two Deputy Chiefs of Staff- Abu Jinapor and Francis Asenso Boakye.
Director of Communication at the presidency Eugene Arhin confirmed the police CID has contacted the two accusers to back their allegations with evidence.
Even before investigations will begin, the Communications Minister Ursula Owusu has categorically refuted the allegations.
It is against this backgdrop that Mr Andah, speaking on Adom FM’s Morning Show ‘Dwaso Nsem’ Monday, said corruption allegations against the Minister are false, explaining that the NIA is not under the Ministry of Communications so questions about NIA should be directed to NIA and not the Communications Ministry.
He added that when NPP took over, it set up a technical committee to advise government on what steps to take to deliver on its campaign promises to issue the National ID cards.
George Andah said upon thorough research, the technical committee found that the NIA had an agreement with Identification Management Systems (IMS), which was found to be viable and effective, in that under the agreement, IMS had built a platform which was robust, modern, had longevity and offered value for money.
He said the technical committee therefore recommended that the agreement with IMS should be allowed to continue because it promises to deliver value for Ghanaian, adding that upon that recommendation the Chief of Staff ordered the agreement should be maintained.
“This is not under the purview of the Communications Ministry so that Minister could not have interfered in anyway – and as you know, the ministry, National Health Insurance, Births and Deaths Registry, DVLA and several other stakeholders are all interested in the success of the process,” he said.
Mr. Andah noted that, Kennedy Agyapong has since denied making any allegations against Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, but the Police CID is still investigating so it would be better to allow them to complete their investigations.
He urged Ghanaians to focus on the good image of the authority instead of tarnishing the hard earned reputation of the Minister.
George Andah also believes the US$72million scandal at SSNIT is more of a fact-based national concern than the baseless allegations against his boss.