NIA dismisses 10 registration officials

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has dismissed 10 registration officials with immediate effect for misconduct after it concluded administrative investigations into their actions.

Seven of them were initially interdicted on January 9, this year, following reports of administrative breaches of the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the ongoing mass registration exercise for the Ghana Card in the Ashanti Region.

Mr Francis Palmdeti, the Head of Corporate Affairs of NIA, announced this in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra, on Wednesday.

The statement said the dismissed officials acted without lawful authority by carrying registration materials away from designated registration centres to private premises for the purposes of registering officials of a certain bank.

Those dismissed included Martin Awatey, a Commissioner for Oaths, New Suame Church of Pentecost Centre in Kumasi, Musah Alhassan, a Registration Officer, New Suame Church of Pentecost Centre in Kumasi and Philip Osei, a Mobile Registration Workstation Operator, New Suame Church of Pentecost Centre in Kumasi.

The rest are Alphonse Acquah-Djan, a Commissioner for Oaths, Church of Christ Registration Centre, Nyinampong, Asante-Mampong and Alexander Larbi, a Commissioner for Oaths, Amanchia D/A registration Centre in Atwima Nwabiagya South District and Lydia Amanda K. Mega, a Commissioner for Oaths, Mpasatia Atenasu registration centre in Atwima Mponua District

The NIA said, Acquah-Djan and Larbi, for instance, contracted some members of the communities within which they were deployed to sell Oath of Identity forms, signed or thumb-printed by applicants who had already gone through the registration process.

Amanda K. Mega, for instance,stamped blank Oath of Identity Forms, which had not been duly completed by persons vouching for applicants, contrary to the rules and ethics of her profession as a Commissioner for Oaths.

The forms also found their way into the hands of prospective applicants for a fee.

Prior to their dismissal, the NIA had interdicted the above named persons.

However, Margaret Agyei, a Supervising Registration Officer of New Suame Church of Pentecost Centre in Kumasi, who was among those initially interdict Ed, has been reinstated after the NIA’s internal investigations proved that she did no wrong.

"She is accordingly reinstated with all her entitlements fully restored", the statement said.

The Ghana Card registration, the NIA announced, would continue till Saturday, January 18 whilst all registration centres in the Ashanti Region remained opened for card collection till Wednesday, January 22.

"This is to help ameliorate the challenges encountered in some registration centres when the mass registration began in the Region". Read Full Story