(From L-R) A photo collage of Mutawakilu Adam, Samuel Atta Akyea and Kwabena Adu-Boahene
Samuel Atta Akyea, the lawyer for embattled former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, has given contradictory details on the alleged fraudulent GH¢1.3 million per month Ghana Water Limited (GWL) deal his client has been implicated in.
The state has claimed that the GH¢1.3 million monthly payment, which was the proceeds of an agreement for the National Security to provide internet service to Ghana Water Limited (GWL), was diverted to Adu-Boahene’s personal account.
The Acting Director of the GWL, Mutawakilu Adam, claimed in an interview on TV3 that the National Security approached the GWL to provide it with internet service at all of its offices.
However, speaking to the media after court proceedings on Monday, May 26, 2025, Samuel Atta Akyea, counsel for the embattled NSB boss , indicated it was the GWL that approached the National Security to help monitor its water distribution system.
He said the company asked the National Security to help it monitor it with a system to police the supply of water, and not mere internet services, as asserted.
“It’s also got to do with Ghana Water Limited seeking help from National Security to give them all the surveillance and mechanisms so that we could police the sanctity of water in the realm.
“So that’s another National Security matter,” the former legislator said.
He further stated that there is more to this issue than has been asserted, adding that so far, his client has done no wrong.
“Well, at the moment, he’s very innocent by the terms of the Constitution until proven otherwise, and to prove it otherwise – but what is happening now? I’m afraid people don’t understand the issue deeper than what is being presented,” he said.
What the GWL boss said
The Acting Director of the GWL, Adam Mutawakilu, said that the payment of the GH¢1.3 million started in 2018 and was done in two instalments every month till the contract was suspended in April 2025.
Mutawakilu Adam indicated that the payment was deducted from the GWL accounts automatically every month.
“They (the Ghana Water Limited) used to go private to be able to connect internet to the head office and all these regions and then the districts. So, when government under Nana Addo secured this internet and fibre optic installation at that time, they decided that okay, why don’t we extend not only to Ghana Water but also to other government agencies. So, they will provide us with the internet and cybersecurity to all, but at the end of the month, Ghana Water is required to pay some amount for maintenance.
“So, this agreement was entered into in 2018, and it (the 1.3 million) is in two instalments. So, you pay within the month 650 (650,000) and another 650 (650,000), and it is by standing orders – it’s like LCs. Ghana Water Company instructed that this amount should be deducted… it was paid every month from 2018. It was stopped in April 2025,” he said.
He added that it was the Director-General of National Security who spearheaded the agreement and gave out the bank account details the payments should be made into.
However, it turned out that the account details, even though they looked like those of the National Security, were not.
“We had an agreement with National Security, and we have a liaison officer to National Security.
“So, to the best of the knowledge of Ghana Water Company, we were paying the money to National Security… not knowing, a similar account was opened, just like National Security in terms of name, and this money, this account was given to Ghana Water Limited to pay,” he said.
The GWL boss also disclosed that the said agreement – that is, the supposed agreement that was signed by the Ghana Water Company and the National Security – is nowhere to be found.
“I’ve looked for the agreement up to now. I haven’t got the agreement… Somebody offered to give me the agreement. I asked the NIB, they don’t have it,” he said.
BAI/VPO
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