A fresh digital review by the National Service Authority of the 2025/2026 registration database has uncovered more than 8,105 suspicious names, leading to the suspension of 1,840 people over alleged fraud.
Investigators traced the irregularities to three tertiary institutions: the University for Development Studies, Ghana Communications Technology University, and Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development.
Ten university staff and several officials linked to the scheme have been arrested and are assisting security agencies with investigations into losses estimated at GH¢68.64 million a year in wrongful allowance payments.
Addressing journalists in Accra, the Director-General, Ruth Dela Seddoh, said decisive reforms had closed long-standing loopholes. She explained that a new system now runs automated checks between university submissions and official records before approvals are granted.
“The authority has also intensified audits of data submitted by tertiary institutions, built the capacity of institutional staff on compliance and data integrity, and enhanced payment monitoring processes,” she said.
Ms. Seddoh said the reforms had exposed how “cartels still want to infiltrate the system with ghost names,” but added that swift action had averted losses of “GH¢68,640,000 per year.” “We have shut the doors that allowed ghost names to thrive, and anyone who attempts to infiltrate the system again will face the full rigours of the law,” she warned.
She said the old registration platform had been scrapped and replaced with a centralized system that cross-checks data with the National Identification Authority, backed by forensic analysis of payment records and on-site verification at affected institutions.
The director-general acknowledged challenges, including data mismatches caused by past name or age changes.
“Many students who changed their names or adjusted their ages years ago now face conflicting data that prevents their registration,” she said, adding that support desks and partnerships with the Ghana Publishing Company were helping to resolve cases.
She also warned institutions against rejecting posted personnel without cause, saying such actions could attract sanctions, and urged all stakeholders to treat national service placements as a shared responsibility.
