Former Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Prof. Ken Attafuah, has requested Dr. Callistus Mahama, Executive Secretary to the President, to formally retract a letter allegedly revoking his appointment.
The letter, which surfaced on social media on Thursday, January 16, 2025, claimed to revoke Prof. Attafuah’s appointment as Executive Secretary of the NIA with immediate effect. It further instructed him to hand over his responsibilities to Mr. Wisdom Yayra Deku, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the NIA.
In a Facebook post on January 18, Prof. Attafuah clarified that he retired from the Public Service of Ghana on November 13, 2024, concluding his tenure as Executive Secretary of the NIA.
“My exit from NIA followed the expiration of my post-retirement contract after my 65th birthday on 9th November 2024.
“In the circumstances, the withdrawal of the impugned letter will help redress the awkwardness and embarrassment it has caused me personally and also address any apparent slighting of the lawful appointment of Mr. Mahama Sualihu as Ag. Executive Secretary since 14th November.”
He stated that he had handed over his duties to Mr. Mahama Suleman Sualihu, Director of Internal Audit at the NIA, and had also submitted his handing-over notes to the transition team.
“I handed over the duties of my office to Mr. Mahama Suleman Sualihu, Director of Internal Audit at NIA, who has been acting as the Executive Secretary since 14th November 2024 (following a resolution of the NIA Governing Board).
“I duly submitted my Handing Over Notes to the Transition Team on time (and have handed over all properties belonging to NIA in my custody.”
He urged the public to disregard any claims to the contrary, emphasizing that Dr. Callistus Mahama had assured him of retracting the alleged letter.
Read below the Facebook post by Prof Ken Attafuah
Quick one… is this truly from you, Sir?:
A few moments ago, I engaged with Dr. Calistus Mahama, Secretary to His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, on a letter widely circulated on social media since Thursday, 16th January 2025 purporting to revoke my appointment as Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority with immediate effect.
The said letter, reproduced below, also directed me to hand over the duties of my office to Mr. Wisdom Kwaku Deku, who has been appointed by President Mahama as the Acting Executive Secretary of NIA.
My engagement with Dr. Calistus Mahama today followed an earlier one yesterday during which I pointed out the following incontrovertible facts to him and, and based on those facts, respectfully requested him to formally withraw the letter of revocation of appointment:
1. I retired from the Public Service of Ghana as Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA) on 13th November 2024;
2. My exit from NIA followed the expiration of my post-retirement contract after my 65th birthday on 9th November 2024;
3. I handed over the duties of my office to Mr. Mahama Suleman Sualihu, Director of Internal Audit at NIA, who has been acting as the Executive Secretary since 14th November 2024 (following a resolution of the NIA Governing Board); and
4. I duly submitted my Handing Over Notes to the Transition Team on time (and have handed over all properties belonging to NIA in my custody.
The above facts might have been inadvertently missed in the preparation and issuance of the said letter. In the circumstances, the withdrawal of the impugned letter will help redress the awkwardness and embarrassment it has caused me personally, and also address any apparent slighting of the lawful appointment of Mr. Mahama Sualihu as Ag. Executive Secretary since 14th November.
At the end of our cordial WhatsApp chat yesterday, Dr. Calistus Mahama asked me to “rest assured” that he had “requested that the letter be withdrawn since [I am] no longer with the NIA”.
I understand that someone from Jubilee House went to NIA yesterday mid-afternoon and simply collected, rather than officially, withdraw the letter.
This evening, I conveyed to Dr. Calistus my earnest conviction that only an explicit written withdrawal of the impugned letter will kill the mischief on both sides of the political divide. He has assured me he will work on it on Monday when he gets to the office.
In short, I’m happily retired and not serving as Executive Secretary of NIA. Any suggestion to the contrary is false and should be disregarded.
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