The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) Sumaila Abdul Rahman has been stopped by a Tamale High Court from travelling.

Sumaila Abdul Rahman pleaded with the court that he has a scheduled trip in relation to his work as Chief Executive Officer of the NDA when he made his first appearance in a criminal prosecution

But the court declined his request and demanded that he deposits his passport with the court and avoid any form of travel till the determination of the case.

Other accused persons have also been directed to deposit their passports with the court.

At the hearing Tuesday, January 31, 2023, the court granted the four accused persons in the NDA scandal a sum of GHc2 million each with three sureties to be justified with landed properties.

The case has been adjourned to 28 February 2023 for Case Management Conference.

Background

A contract alteration scandal has hit the Northern Development Authority (NDA) where a Gh¢5.7Million contract signed by an immediate-past CEO of the company was ‘magically’ inflated long after the work was done and due for payment.

In a series of exposés by the immediate-past CEO of NDA, Dr. Alhassan Anamzoya, he awarded a contract to a firm called A&QS Consortium while in office at a sum of ¢5,720,000 approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) under the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).

The PPA on January 16, 2020, gave approval to NDA under Dr. Anamzoya to use single-source procurement to recruit various consultancy services to implement the IPEP program at the amount Gh¢5.7Million.

However, upon Dr. Anamzoya’s departure from NDA, the contract miraculously ‘falsified’ itself along with the forged signature of Dr. Anamzoya to inflate the total contract sum to Gh¢10,400,000 instead of the Gh¢5.7Million.

Despite the clear fraud and possible criminal repercussions, payment was effected with only a fraction left to be cleared.

The NDA under Dr. Anamzoya engaged the services of the A&Qs Firm to provide Consultancy Supervision for 11 constituencies in the Upper West Region at the cost of ¢5,720,000 with PPA approval. Even though the award letter signed by Anamzoya and the corresponding PPA approval showed an amount of ¢5,720,000, the contract was allegedly doctored to show Ghc¢10,400,000 and submitted the same for payment to be made which 30% was done.

The alleged infraction was made to inflate the figures and possibly steal from the state knowing the works and the contract award did not march under the current NDA CEO Sumaila Abdul Rahman who has not officially reacted to the allegations.

The former NDA CEO petitioned the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, over the alleged fraud but she failed to act, creating the impression of official culpability in the deal.

This is the reason why Martin Kpebu alleged that he is convinced the President is directly involved in crimes against the state and is head of the Criminal Syndicate at the Jubilee House. Martin Kpebu led the petition to the Special Prosecutor on the matter who is investigating.