Hot SourceThe Veterans Administration of Ghana (VAG), has strongly refuted claims made by Ex-Warrant Officer Class I (WOI) Yussif Mahamah, describing them as “absolute falsehoods borne out of ignorance,” in a detailed response to a petition calling for the removal and investigation of its Executive Director, Capt. (Rtd) Ben Edmund Duah.
In a statement signed by VAG’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ex-WOI Bright Segbefia, the association expressed regret that some veterans have resorted to public attacks instead of taking advantage of VAG’s open-door policy to seek information or redress.
According to the statement, the petitioner’s allegations, including unauthorised deductions from veterans, misuse of VAG property for private rentals, land sales, and financial mismanagement, are “not only misleading but also betray a fundamental lack of understanding of how the organisation operates.”
Addressing the claim that Capt. Duah unilaterally imposed a 1% monthly deduction on veterans, VAG explained that such a decision was made collectively by its Governing Board, which is the highest policy-making body of the organisation.
“The Executive Director does not have the authority to implement major decisions without the Board’s approval,” the statement clarified. “It is, therefore, inaccurate and unfortunate for anyone to suggest otherwise.”
In response to accusations that the VAG headquarters, located near the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) headquarters, is being rented out for private social events without issuing receipts, VAG said no such activities occur on its premises.
“For the record, the VAG Headquarters does not host social functions such as funerals, weddings, or Thanksgiving services,” it said, adding that Ex-WOI Mahamah may have confused the premises with the VAG Club House. That facility, VAG stressed, is independently run by the Retired Commissioned Officers’ Association (RCOA) and is not under VAG’s administrative control.
Touching on claims that Capt. Duah is selling off land belonging to VAG at the Amasaman Legion Village without the knowledge or consent of veterans. The statement dismissed the allegation as baseless.
“The land is government-acquired and no individual can transfer ownership,” VAG noted. “The portion in question is part of a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with a Chinese developer, approved by the Governing Board, not sold, as alleged.”
The statement also clarified that the area is divided into four segments, including a rehabilitated clinic, staff accommodation, a section under litigation for encroachment, and the JVA development area. VAG said any proceeds from felled trees for boundary wall construction were deposited into its official account, with proper documentation available.
VAG strongly refuted allegations of financial impropriety, explaining that its accounts are now audited by both the Auditor-General and the Ministry of Defence a shift initiated by Capt. Duah himself in accordance with the Veterans Administration Act, 2012 (Act 844).
“There are three signatories to the account, and it is impossible for the Executive Director to unilaterally access funds,” the statement pointed out. It also noted that a previously reported sum of GHS 32,000 discussed during a Public Accounts Committee hearing referred to soft loans to staff, which had been fully recovered by the time of the appearance.
VAG criticised the tone and intent behind Ex-WOI Mahamah’s petition, claiming it mirrors previous defamatory campaigns targeting past leadership.
“Capt. Duah is not the first Executive Director to face such smear attempts. His predecessor, Col. C.A.O. Nutakor (Rtd.), endured similar attacks until his untimely death. Investigations later exonerated him and even recognised his contributions to VAG’s financial sustainability,” the statement said.
The administration further revealed that efforts to engage with veterans who had made earlier complaints had been rebuffed. “Official invitations were extended to the authors of previous letters to clarify their concerns. Unfortunately, they chose to continue their public attacks instead.”
VAG urged all veterans to support the newly sworn-in Board, chaired by Rear Admiral Peter Kofi Faidoo (Rtd.), and the incoming Executive Director, Brigadier General Seidu Mumuni Adams (Rtd.).
“Rather than making uninformed accusations, veterans are encouraged to seek clarification through their local VAG representatives or directly from the national headquarters,” the statement appealed.
“Capt. Duah has served with honour and has even risked his life in defence of VAG property. We trust that posterity will judge him fairly.”
Below is the petition;
RE: PETITION FOR THE REMOVAL AND INVESTIGATION OF CAPT. (RTD) BEN DUAH AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION OF GHANA (VAG)
The management of Veterans Administration, Ghana (VAG) feels very sad that despite its open- door policy, some veterans could choose to be writing offensive articles to malign it, most especially the Executive Director, Capt BE Duah (Rtd.) out of sheer ignorance.
All that Ex WOI Yussif Mahamah has said are absolute falsehoods borne out of total ignorance. In fact, there’s not an iota of truth in any of the issues he raised.
This is someone who had earlier admitted that he didn’t know that VAG has a Governing Board and is now saying: ‘Capt. Duah, in collaboration with certain regional and district executives, instituted a monthly 1% deduction from veterans without prior consultation’.
Fact is the deduction was a collective decision by our representatives on the Governing Board, not by any District Secretary or Regional officer.
The objective and mandate of the Governing Board is to give policy direction. The Executive Director, therefore, can’t take major decisions without approval and directions from the Board. That explains any contract involving VAG.
Ex-WOI Yussif Mahamah, under what he describes as ‘misuse of VAG Headquarters for private rentals’ (‘opposite the Immigration Service Headquarters’), accuses VAG of renting the space for private social events.
He puts out some figures of money as incomes from the hire. He added that VAG HQ is indulging in corruption because ‘official receipts’ are not issued, describing the process as lacking transparency, and it raises potential corruption.
Ex-WOI Yussif Mahamah seems to have removed himself from VAG, which has reflected in how he wrote VAG in full and even the rank of the Executive Director.
For his education, no social activities such as funerals, weddings, Thanksgiving service, etc have ever taken place at the VAG headquarters, which is co-located with the GIS HQ. To enter VAG HQ, one has to pass through the GIS reception.
We assume that Ex WOI Yussif Mahamah is referring to the VAG Club House, which is run exclusively by Retired Commissioned Officers’ Association (RCOA), another group of veterans.
Like other VAG groups, RCOA undertakes economic activities of their choice and not controlled by VAG HQ.
He alleged that the Executive Director is selling VAG land at the Amasaman Legion Village ‘without the consent or knowledge of VAG members’.
First, about ‘consent’, it’s strange how Ex WOI Yussif Mahamah was expecting the management of VAG to seek that from all veterans across the world on anything it does.
Well, as someone who lacks knowledge about the existence of VAG Governing Board through which all major decisions are taken, it’s understandable for him to say that.
The Legion Village land is government-acquire, meaning that no individual can have a title to any portion to transfer. How was Capt Duah (Rtd.) going to get documents for the buyer?
The land is in four (4) segments: 1. Rehabilitated VAG Clinic handed over to GHQ (MED), 2. Accommodation occupied by some VAG staff and some employees of GHQ, 3. Encroachment area being contested in court, and 4. Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with the Chinese company developing it with the approval of the Board.
The Board settled on the Chinese from among a multitude of potential investors to develop a portion, but not sold to him.
Some teak trees have partially been planted along the boundary to protect it. Despite the buffer trees, some people, who built along the boundary, have been encroaching on it at various locations in addition to a thoroughfare by neighbours.
To stop these, the Governing Board ordered the investor to replace the trees with a fence wall. A local contractor was subsequently engaged to harvest the trees to pave way for the fence wall project with a prior inspection and a permit from the Ga West Municipal Assembly.
VAG’s share of the felled trees was sold and proceeds deposited into its account (payments and deposit receipts available).
In the course of the fence wall project, some thugs besieged the place in the name of national security about two months ago and drove away labourers undertaking the work.
VAG went to the National Security headquarters to lodge a complaint but they denied knowledge about them and asked VAG to report them to the police should they show up again.
Around that time, Ex WOI Yussif Mahamah made a reference to the fence wall and the thugs in a viral letter.
He further wrote that VAG had failed to use rents it collects from tenants occupying buildings at the Amasaman Legion village to maintain the buildings. ‘The Amasaman Legion Village is now in a very sorry state because it has never seen any maintenance despite payments of rent by occupants,’ he said.
Why did he not give the breakdowns as he did about the VAG Club House rentals? Anyway, anyone can visit there and see things for themselves.
He claimed that VAG’s account is being tampered with by Capt Duah (Rtd.). There are three signatories to the account. How could it be possible for one person to withdraw money?
Before Capt Duah (Rtd.) took office, only auditors from the Ministry Of Defense were auditing the account.
However, he has changed that by officially inviting the Auditor General in line with Act 844, 2012. Since then, the account of VAG is audited by two bodies taking turns in a year.
It’s recalled that when the Executive Director appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, it was over Ghc 32,000, which was soft loans advanced to some staffers who started from the Association era. The debt was even recovered before he made the appearance.
The writer says vacancies must be announced. They are announced through the chain of communication but how can he an ‘outsider’ know?
VAG HQ often meets Councilors (Assembly of VAG District Executives) across the country to share information from both ends. This is besides occasional visits by the Executive Director to some Districts and Regions, and official circulars.
More often than not, veterans do come to the VAG HQ without official protocols and are able to have uninterrupted audience with the Executive Director.
When the first of these spurious letters surfaced last year, official invitations were sent to the author, Ex WOI Mack Seyram Teku aka ‘One Ghana,” to be listened to and educated.
Regrettably, he turned down the invitations and resorted to further defamatory letters, which we suspected were being engineered by an individual with furtive motives.
VAG does not think this is the right way to build an organisation, to be destroying hard-working people’s reputations.
We are at pains to say that this was the same way the predecessor of Capt Duah, Col CAO Nutakor (Rtd.), was treated with all kinds of unfounded and malicious allegations against him to the then Defence Minister.
Investigations conducted by then BNI into the allegations after his sudden death did not implicate him in anyway. He rather received commendations for placing his legal knowledge at the service of VAG pro bone, leading to a legacy that today gives VAG a revenue beacon of hope.
It must be noted that VAG is a non-political organisation whose staffers are recruited by the Public Service Commission on personal efforts and merits.
As a new Board, chaired by R/Admiral Peter Kofi Faidoo (Rtd) has been sworn in with the Executive Director as Brig Gen Seidu Mumuni Adams (Rtd.), it is our plea that everyone gives them maximum support and refrains from the way Col Nutakor and Capt Duah were vilified.
Act 844, 2012, mandates all veterans to join VAG in the District. They should feel free to approach their representatives on the Governing Board, Regional Officers or the national HQ to seek clarifications on any issues instead of being misled to be embarrassingly acting from a position of ignorance.
As for Capt Duah, posterity will surely exonerate him for his sacrifices for VAG including nearly losing his life in protecting the Opebea Legion Village land.
SIGNED:
EX WOI BRIGHT SEGBEFIA,
PRO, VAG
0244-541464
14 July, 2025
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