BY Issah Olegor
Fresh details surrounding a government consultancy awarded to Global InfoAnalytics Executive Director and pollster Mussa Dankwah have intensified political scrutiny over his relationship with the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, with documents cited in connection with the contract indicating that the engagement was approved under a single-source procurement arrangement.
The development has opened a new chapter in the long-running controversy over Dankwah’s political polling, particularly among supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), who have repeatedly questioned the credibility and perceived political direction of polls produced by his organisation.
According to the procurement details provided, the Ministry of Youth and Development obtained approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to directly source the services of Mussa Dankwah to conduct a Substance Abuse Survey in tertiary and second-cycle institutions.
The document identifies the assignment as a consultancy contract involving Dankwah and places the value of the component concerning tertiary institutions at approximately GH¢238,773. It further indicates an amount of GH¢350,000 in relation to the second-cycle institutions component.
The disclosure is significant because Dankwah had publicly pushed back against claims circulating on social media that he had secured a sole-sourced government contract.
In a Facebook response on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Mussa Dankwah reacted to the controversy by asking: “Eii, so I have been trending for alleged sole source contract?”
He maintained that he was not aware of any sole-source arrangement and insisted that he had participated in a tendering process before emerging as the successful bidder.
“I submitted a tender and won,” he said.
Dankwah further claimed that his company had fulfilled the milestones associated with the assignment and had even used its own resources to pre-finance the project.
“I am still waiting to be paid,” he stated.
However, the procurement information now being circulated presents a different dimension to the controversy, as it specifically describes the arrangement as “Single Source Procurement” and states that the Ministry received PPA approval to “direct source” Dankwah for the research assignment.
The apparent discrepancy between Mussa Dankwah’s description of the procurement process and the wording contained in the document is likely to fuel further demands for clarification, particularly over whether the tender he referred to was part of a broader procurement process that ultimately received approval for direct sourcing, or whether the documents relate to a different stage or component of the assignment.
The issue has assumed political significance because Mussa Dankwah is not an ordinary private consultant in Ghana’s political space. As the Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, he has become one of the country’s most prominent pollsters, regularly producing surveys on voter preferences, presidential elections, political parties and public sentiment.
His polling work has repeatedly generated controversy, especially among NPP supporters who have accused him of producing findings that allegedly favour the NDC.
Those accusations have been strongly disputed, and Mussa Dankwah has consistently presented himself as a professional pollster whose findings are based on research rather than political allegiance.
The latest contract controversy, however, has given his political critics another basis on which to question the perceived independence of his work.
The central question now being raised is not necessarily whether a polling organisation or research consultant can legitimately undertake work for a government.
Rather, it is whether a pollster who regularly publishes politically sensitive surveys can maintain sufficient public confidence in his independence while simultaneously receiving government-funded assignments.
What the documents supplied for this report do establish is that Mussa Dankwah was named as the consultant for a government research assignment and that the procurement information describes the arrangement as single-source procurement, with PPA approval reportedly obtained by the Ministry.
Dankwah, meanwhile, maintains that he submitted a tender and won the assignment.
He has also defended the project itself, arguing that it is an initiative capable of having a significant impact on the young population.
According to him, his team has completed the required reports, while discussions concerning the final report remain ongoing.
“I don’t just accept any project; I ensure that I check the relevant boxes before saying yes,” he said.
Dankwah also challenged his critics to consider the substance of the work rather than focusing exclusively on the political controversy surrounding him.
He said he was proud to have led the team that delivered the project and questioned the contribution of those attacking his professional work.
The dispute therefore now centres on transparency surrounding the procurement process.
The controversy comes amid heightened public scrutiny of government procurement under the Mahama administration, particularly concerning consultancy services and contracts awarded to private individuals and organisations.
