President John Dramani Mahama has directed the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to immediately conduct an investigation into the operations of the National Service Authority (NSA) following the discovery of 81,885 suspected ghost names on its payroll.

In a press statement issued by the presidency on February 12, it noted that the discrepancies were identified after a headcount of active National Service personnel, initiated by the Minister for Finance, as a prerequisite for clearing allowance arrears dating back to August 2024.

Upon completion of the headcount, the Ministry of Finance released GHS 226,019,224 to cover allowance arrears for 98,145 actual National Service Personnel.

"The Ministry of Finance has upon the completion of the head count, released an amount of GHS 226,019,224 covering allowance payment arrears for 98,145 actual National Service Personnel," the statement read.

This figure is 81,885 less than the 180,030 names presented by the previous management of the NSA for allowance payment in 2024.

In response to these findings, President Mahama has tasked the new management of the NSA to implement urgent reforms to establish adequate controls and prevent the recurrence of ghost names on the payroll.

The recent discovery of the payroll discrepancies through an investigative piece by the Fourth Estate has prompted President Mahama to take decisive action to ensure transparency and accountability within the Authority.