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The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has revealed that the office commenced an investigation into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat since July 2023.

This was contained in a response letter addressed to Osman Abdulai Ayariga, the Deputy National Youth Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), who on April 9, 2024, petitioned the OSP to investigate the Scholarship Secretariat for an alleged “corruption and corruption-related offences.”

The Scholarship Secretariat has come under a barrage of criticism following the Fourth Estate’s recent investigation on the secreatariat, in which the Secretariat allegedly awarded huge funding amounts to relatives of some political stalwarts to study abroad.

This contradicts the Scholarship Secretariat’s main objective of offering local and foreign scholarships to academically talented but financially disadvantaged students.

Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, who signed the letter, noted that “the Office of the Special Prosecutor commenced investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat circa July 2023. The investigation is active and ongoing.”

The Special Prosecutor added that the Office will contact the petitioner, Mr. Ayariga, for further assistance should the need arise.

Mr. Ayariga, the Deputy National Youth Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), in a statement released on Tuesday April 9, held the view that the activities of the Registrar must be investigated.

The letter read, “It has become necessary to petition your office due to the despicable magnitude of abuse the Scholarship secretariat under the current leadership has exhibited. I am therefore by this petition calling for a full-scale investigation into the activities of the Registrar and associated staff of the secretariat regarding the award of scholarships.”

He emphasised the urgency of investigating these matters to prevent any future misappropriation of resources.

“I hereby request that the Registrar be subjected to investigations and be made to step aside pending the outcome of the investigations to prevent interference with the investigative process.”

“I am counting on your ability to carry out a thorough investigation into the grounds stated above and accordingly inform the Ghanaian people of the outcome of the investigations,” said Mr. Ayariga.