Gifty Oware-Mensah Returns to Ghana as NSS Payroll Scandal Deepens

Gifty Oware-Mensah, former Deputy Executive Director of Ghana’s National Service Scheme (NSS), arrived in Accra on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, amid mounting scrutiny over her alleged role in a sprawling payroll fraud case involving tens of thousands of “ghost workers.”

Her return, confirmed by ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) member P.K. Sarpong via social media, follows weeks of speculation that she had fled the country to evade investigations into financial irregularities at the state agency.

Oware-Mensah, who landed at Kotoka International Airport on Emirates Flight EK787 at 12:30 p.m., faces allegations linked to an audit that uncovered 81,885 fictitious names on the NSS payroll earlier this year. The scandal, described as one of Ghana’s largest public sector fraud cases in recent memory, erupted in February 2025 after The Fourth Estate revealed shocking details, including a 93-year-old listed as an active service personnel and the name “Abubakar Fuseini” duplicated 226 times with identical academic credentials. President John Mahama swiftly ordered the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to probe the scheme, which assigns graduates to public institutions for mandatory national service.

Sarpong, seeking to quash rumors of Oware-Mensah’s flight, declared on Facebook that she “is not a fugitive” and remains committed to cooperating with authorities. Her legal team, Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners, echoed this in a February 28 statement, clarifying that her recent international travel was a “brief post-election break” and unrelated to the investigation. “Our client was born and bred in Ghana and has no intention of relocating,” the lawyers stressed, adding she is prepared to assist with any legal proceedings.

The NSS, meanwhile, has denied systemic fraud, citing upgraded anti-corruption systems since 2021. But the revelations have intensified public outrage, particularly over the misuse of funds meant for youth development. Critics argue the scandal underscores chronic governance failures, with opposition leaders demanding accountability for what they call “a betrayal of Ghana’s future.”

As Oware-Mensah reenters the spotlight, her return tests the government’s resolve to tackle graft in a nation still recovering from a 2022 debt crisis. With the NIB yet to release findings, Ghanaians await answers—and justice—for a scheme that allegedly turned public service into a vehicle for plunder.