Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Stephen Yir-eru Engmen and Patrick Seidu
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has directed for criminal prosecution of Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Chief Executive Northern Development Authority(NDA), Stephen Yir-eru EngmenDeputy Chief Executive (Operations), Patrick Seidu Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration) and Andrew Kuundaari Chief Executive A&QS Consortium Limited for breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663):
A statement signed by Special Prosecutor (OSP), Kissi Agyebeng, have since charged the suspects for conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
The statement further indicated that Mr. Abdul-Rahman, Mr. Seidu and Mr. Kuundaari have been charged with a further count each of directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract, while Mr. Yir-eru Engmen has been charged with a further two counts of the same offense.
The four will be arraigned before the High Court (Criminal Division), Tamale on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
It will be recalled that two Deputy Chief Executive Officers of the Northern Development Authority(NDA), Mr. Patrick Seidu and Mr. Stephen Yir-Eru Engmen , were sacked by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
A statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare read “ We wish to inform you that , H.E the President has decided to terminate your appointment as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority with effect from 21st March,2023.”
The statement further directed that the sacked Deputy Chief Executive Officers of the Northern Development Authority hands over their duties and any official property in their custody to the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority before his departure.
The Northern Development Authority (NDA) has been in the news in recent times over some alleged corruption related case at the office.
The complaint Mr. Martin Luther Kpebu alleged that the Public Procurement Authority approved the award of the contract in the sum of Five Million Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand cedis (GHC5,720,000.00) on 16 January 2020 and that no approval was sought for the inflated figure of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedis (GHC10,400,000.00).
The complaint further alleged that though the contract has expired, NDA has gone ahead to implement same and paid about Three Million cedis (GHC3,000,000.00) and that there was an attempt to pay an additional Five Million cedis (5,000,000.00).
Prior to the filing of the complaint by Mr. Kpebu, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency had been petitioned on 11 January 2022 by a former Acting Chief Executive of NDA, Dr. Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya on the same matter. In his petition titled – Falsification of A&QS Contract under the IPEP – Dr. Anamzoya stated that his attention had been drawn to a document purportedly signed by him awarding a contract in the sum of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedis (GHC10,400,000.00) to A&QS by NDA under the IPEP.
Dr. Anamzoya denied executing any such contract. He claimed that on 28 January 2020, he signed (for and on behalf of NDA) a contract awarded by NDA to A&QS in the sum of Five Million Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand cedis (GHC5,720,000.00) based on an approval by the Public Procurement Authority (hereafter, PPA) dated 16 January 2020. He contended that the document containing the contract sum of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedis (GHC10,400,000.00) was doctored by the transposition of his signature onto that document, which numbering does not tally with the remaining pages of the document.
Dr. Anamzoya’s object of petitioning the Chief of Staff was twofold – to expose the perpetrators for punishment and to clear his name.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale