Former NDA CEO, two deputies, another convicted over procurement corruption

A High Court in Tamale has convicted four people, including three former officials of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), on seven counts of corruption and corruption-related offences linked to procurement contracts under the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).

The convicts are former NDA Chief Executive Officer Sumaila Abdul-Rahman; former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations, Stephen Yir-Eru Engmen; former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Administration, Patrick Seidu; and Andrew Kuundaari, Chief Executive of private company A&QS Consortium Limited.

According to a statement by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the four were convicted on Friday, October 23, 2026, on seven of the 11 counts brought against them by the OSP.

The offences include conspiracy to influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of contracts, directly or indirectly influencing procurement processes for an unfair advantage, corruption by a public officer and corruption of a public officer.

However, the court declined to impose custodial sentences, citing the advanced ages of the convicts and the OSP’s swift intervention to prevent unlawful payments under the contracts and no financial loss had been caused to the state.

Instead, the court imposed 1,000 penalty units for each count.

The prosecution was initiated and conducted by the OSP following investigations into a complaint filed by legal practitioner Martin Kpebu.

The OSP reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public funds and holding public officials and their private-sector collaborators accountable for corruption and related offences.