NIA refutes claims of fraud, caution Okudzeto Ablakwa to respect state institutions

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has refuted claims by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, that the authority issued a Ghana Card to Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, “a popular prophet” fraudulently and that er hi claims, the entire national identification exercise lacks credibility.

In a Facebook post on Monday, 30 January 2023, Ablakwa alleged that NIA has fraudulently issued a Ghana Card to Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng. He claimed that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, presented himself at NIA premises but was issued a Ghana Card bearing the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, with a different date of birth.

Ablakwa claims

Ablakwa described this as mysterious and asserts that his “rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database” discloses that “the biometrics (fingerprint mapping, facial template and iris recognition) of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng matches that of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi”.

“On these bases, Ablakwa, who is also the Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Ghana, “calls to question the credibility of the entire national identification exercise, particularly after the recent embarrassing Aisha Huang Affair”

“Ablakwa then laments that “it is the sloppiness and or complicity of state institutions that emboldens certain characters to entrench their sophisticated conflict of interest machinations” a statement issued by the corporate affairs directorate of the NIA indicated.

Contention of NIA

The NIA in their statement presented a four-point response to the claims of the North Tongu lawmaker. On the alleged fraudulent and mysterious registration and issuance of Ghana Card, the NIA says it “is required by law to register applicants onto the NIA database, properly called the National Identity Register (NIR), based on the information supplied by applicants.

“Section 8(1) of the National Identity Register (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act 950) provides that, the Authority shall require an individual who applies for an entry to be made in the Register to submit any of the following identity documents: a birth certificate, a valid passport, a valid residence permit, a valid certificate of acquired citizenship, and any other information as may be required by the Authority”.

“NIA operates in accordance with law and public policy. A person’s popularity is immaterial to the NIA registration process. Indeed, a popular name is not necessarily a person’s real name. NIA officials register applicants based on the names the applicants present to the officials, as captured in any of the above-specified identity documents, such as their birth certificates or passports.

“Alternatively, as is commonly known, where an applicant is unable to submit any of the specified documents, they may be vouched for by a relative or other qualified persons before a Commissioner for Oaths at the registration premises. In that event, the registration officials will use the name indicated by the applicant and vouched for by the guarantor(s) as the applicant’s name” the NIA statement read.

“There is nothing mysterious about Kwabena Adu Gyamfi being issued with a Ghana Card as such, even though Okudzeto Ablakwa knows Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng as well.

“Ablakwa has not presented any evidence that there is a person known as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng whose biometrics exist in the NIA’s database or NIR with which he made his rare and comprehensive analysis” the statement further read.

Rules fully observed

The NIA explained the registration process that Kwabena Adu Gyamfi (Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng) went through to acquire his Ghana and note that “NIA registration officials at the Vicandy School Registration Center”, where Kwabena Adu Gyamfi (Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng) completed his registration, “did everything right, and absolutely nothing wrong.

“They (NIA officials) could not reasonably have been expected to know that Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also apparently bore the name Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng as Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa claims.  A popular name may not be a person’s real or official name, and this is rather trite or commonplace” the NIA indicated in their statement.

Credibility of the N.I. Exercise

The NIA observed in their statement that Ablakwa questions “the credibility of the entire national ID exercise”. The Authority says it beg to differ.

“Surely, the credibility of the exercise cannot be questioned simply because Ablakwa is apparently unable to accept the science and law behind the issuance of a Ghana Card to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

“The credibility of the entire registration exercise is solidly intact. Indeed, with stoic determination and focus, NIA has, since 2017, conducted a national identification exercise that has resulted in the capture of the biometrics and alpha-numeric data of over 17.3 million Ghanaians and qualified foreigners in Ghana, each with a unique identity, and issued smart, dual-interface biometric identity cards to over 16 million of them” the NIA indicated in their statement.

“The registration exercise continues at 276 District Offices and 16 Regional Offices of NIA. The register built from “the entire registration exercise” captures biometrics, date of birth, citizenship, residential address, and digital address, among others.

“In addition to the comprehensive national identity register, NIA and its technical partner, Identity Management Systems II Limited (IMS II), have built a credible and robust National Identification System (NIS) which includes; A state-of-the-art back-end (technical) system, A dependable data verification system platform that is currently being used by various businesses nationwide.

“All 25 universal banks in Ghana, all 145 Rural Banks, 19 savings and loans institutions, five micro-finance/micro-credit institutions, five finance and leasing institutions, 16 Fintechs, nine state institutions including SSNIT, GRA, NHIA and Students Loan Trust Fund and six telecommunications companies (telcos)” the NIA statement emphasized.

False claims

The claim to having conducted “a rare and comprehensive analysis of the NIA database” the Authority says “is a mere self-praise” by Ablakwa. “Indeed, it is both rare and uncanny. Ablakwa provides no empirical evidence of the biometrics of Victor Kusi Boateng precisely, as there is none, and if there is, it is not derived from the NIA database!

“In short, the allegations against NIA by Okudzeto Ablakwa are without merit or foundation and must be ignored by Ghanaians. NIA urges Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to respect state institutions doing their best to build the nation. The insinuations and castigations will not change NIA’s resolve to remain focused, rigorous and coherent in fulfilling its statutory mandate” the NIA statement concluded.

Wilberforce Asare

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