Sumaila Abdul-Rahman
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, has resigned from his position.
A letter sighted by DGN Online addressed to the Office of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency and signed by the Acting CEO, indicated that his decision to resign became necessary to allow the ongoing judicial process to take place without any interference.
“ I write to resign from my position as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority(NDA). This decision has become necessary to enable me to step aside and allow the ongoing judicial process to take place without any interference.”
He thanked President Akufo-Addo for giving him the mandate to serve the country as the Acting CEO of the NDA.
“ Over the last two years, I have worked with my team to oversee the implementation of government flagship projects that are making a huge difference to the people of Northern Ghana. We have also developed a five-Year Term Development Strategy which was launched by His Excellency Vice President in November 2022. I have also worked to establish a very strong relationship between developing partners and the NDA.” He said
Mr. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Chief Executive of Northern Development Authority (NDA), and three others namely Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), Patrick Seidu Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration) and Andrew Kuundaari, Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, have been arraigned before the Tamale High Court presided by His Lordship Eric Ansah Ankomah for alleged breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).
The four accused persons have been granted a bail of GHS500,000 each amounting to GHS2 million with three sureties each.
The accused person however pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them.
The court also ordered the accused persons to deposit their traveling passports at the court.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), recently directed for criminal prosecution of the three for breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).
The Special Prosecutor (OSP), Kissi Agyebeng, charged the accused persons with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
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 Northern Development Authority (NDA) has been in the news in recent times over some alleged corruption-related cases at the office.
The complaint Mr. Martin Luther Kpebu alleged that the Public Procurement Authority approved the award of GHS5,720,000 on 16 January 2020 and that no approval was sought for the inflated figure of GHS10,400,000.
The complaint further alleged that though the contract has expired, NDA has gone ahead to implement the same and paid about GHC3,000,000 and that there was an attempt to pay an additional 5,000,000.
Before 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 Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedi contract (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 of Five Million Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand cedis (GHC5,720,000.00) based on 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